Darker Than Black: Gen New Season 2
by Sakabatou77
Summary: Sequel to Generation New. The United State's secret weapon is taken by Suzuki Hachi who was hired by a non-contract agency. Their first target is Itashi Megumi. By trying to keep those close to her at a distance, who else will Megumi lose because of the curse? The new Reaper?
1. Chapter 1

DTB Gen New Season Two: The Ideal Contractor

**NOTE: This is the squeal to Generations New. If you have not read it yet, please do before continuing on.**

Chapter One: The Rough in a Diamond…

**Two Years After Richard Chaplin's Death**

In the mid night hours somewhere around the northern portion of Alaska, there laid a fenced off two story facility. The brisk wind howled; blowing snow about, as more plummeted from above, showing no signs of coming to a standstill. Lights illuminated the perimeter and beyond, allowing armed guards stationed in four towers, sporting in heavy white suits, to observe the area while others frantically cleared away the soggy snow.

The perimeter was two hundred yards squared while the building was three-quarters the size. The facility itself was constructed out of metal with no windows, four doors and four bay doors on each side.

In the distance, two silhouettes struggled walking through the calf high snow towards it. Noticing them, a guard in a tower shined his light on the individuals, showing they wore dark and heavy hooded winter suits with masks that were drenched in snow. The unknown beings continued on, as though nothing was the matter.

Given orders to shoot first and ask questions later, the guard trained his M-16 on them. However, before he could pull the trigger, the intruder to his right highlighted in blue, and then the guard and tower exploded. Workers on ground level ceased his or her work to gaze at it astounded, as the remaining towers' lights shined on the destruction. Unfortunately, the other towers also exploded one after another.

The workers began to panic, storming and trampling, trying to enter the facility while more guards fought to file out. Once the guards had exited, they located the threat, drawing their weapons, but they too were ignited like a lump of charcoal.

The intruders approached the entrance gate after the Contractor demolished it, and entered the perimeter. More guards filed out, only to succumb to the excruciating demise as their comrades had.

The Contractor blew open the door, allowing them to enter. Inside the facility, it was massive but empty, except for more guards, a ten by four rectangular halo-like light and a cage underneath it. Inside was a coffin-like box.

"Fire!" shouted the lead guard.

However, his men were obliterated in a fiery eruption. Once the fire was extinguished, all that was left was a glob of scorched bodies. The two men walked up to the lead guard who was shivering in fear. One of the intruders pulled out a nine-millimeter and pointed it at the guard's head.

"Open the jail," he demanded.

"Please, you mustn't," begged the guard. "He'll kill anyone without any consequences."

"My partner can open it himself."

The Contractor removed his hood to show he had mangled long blond hair and a scar running between his dark blue eyes.

"And if I do, you'll still kill me."

The hooded man sighed and put a bullet in the guard's head, killing him instantly.

"The lock's all yours," he said.

The Contractor highlighted in blue and carefully destroyed the lock, swinging open the jail door. They entered the jail, as the Contractor pulled out a plastic box, opened it to release a stench, and scooped out some manure to eat it.

The hooded man stepped before the coffin, noticing it was locked and gestured for the monstrous brute to demolish it. The Contractor did so, taking another handful of manure and devouring it.

The hooded man opened the coffin to reveal a teenage boy lying inside wearing black spandex pants. The boy was skinny, muscularly toned, and had short light brown hair. He opened his eyes instantly, revealing they were dark green, and sat up straight. The teenager glared at the hooded man and began glowing blue.

"Hold on before you kill me. Hear me out," said the hooded man, calmly, as he raised his hands in gesture to cease his actions.

"Why?" the boy asked in an English accent.

"I freed you from your slumber. You owe me at least that much."

"That is not rational."

"It is if money is involved. You just can't walk out without some consequences."

The boy settled down. "Speak."

"I work for a group that wishes to employ you and are willing to pay you five hundred thousand U.S. dollars for every mission you take and another five hundred thousand for completing it."

The Contractor glared at him for a second, and then said, "That sounds rational."

"Good. In fact, I have your first job for you. Kill the Contractor I'm with. I'm sick of smelling his lunch."

The manure Contractor glanced at him baffled, but doing so gave the teenager time to highlight in blue and snap his neck. The former employee dropped like a ton of bricks.

"Telekinesis!" babbled the hooded man. "I like. You'll get your pay when we reach Yokohama, Japan to kill your next target there."

"Who are you?"

The hooded man removed his hood to reveal he had a sharp face and silky black hair.

"Suzuki Hachi. And your next target is an old partner of mine."

Xxx

In the city of Yokohama during prime hours, Itashi Megumi and Watanabe Katashi sat across from each other in a dimly lit restaurant. Katashi wore black kaki pants, black shoes and a blue button up shirt with the top two undone. His hair was mangled to give him a messy look.

Megumi wore a loose fitting red dress that fluttered to the ground, had a slit along the right side, and shoulder straps that helped show immense cleavage. Her curled hair hung down her back with a few strands lying over her shoulder. She wore light red lipstick and had on glowing like make-up.

To Katashi, it seemed she was trying to make him, and other men around them, uncomfortable in the southern region. To top it off, she wasn't wearing any undergarments. Looked as though somebody was getting lucky tonight.

"I'm surprised to get your message," she said. "Last minute dinner changes, hey? And how did you get dinner reservations?"

"I wanted it to be special. After all, it's our two year anniversary since our first date."

"You remembered the day of our first date?"

"Yes. Don't you?"

"No," she chuckled. "And all it was, was us going to see Gackt in that gay movie with Hyde. I think it was called, _'Moon Riled.'_ And I was supposed to go see it with Kanami-san, but she had to work late at the TCS HQ. Her co-worker had gotten sick. I was surprised you wanted to go. Of course, after you asked me out to see another movie and then kissed me on my doorstep, I figured out why."

"Surprised you didn't think of that beforehand."

"I thought you were just being a good friend. Glad you made a move."

"You weren't that night. You kneed me."

"Those were some tough times. I had just left Tokyo, I find out my mom's ashes were dumped in a sewer, and the lead Captain made me Lieutenant. I didn't want to be in charge after giving up being in charge. It's a stressful job. It's more stressful when someone in your team doesn't listen.

"And I'm getting stressed now." Megumi took a deep breath, motioning her arms downwards, as though to help with her nerves. "Anyways, of course I got over it and now," she smiled at him, "here we are."

"Megumi," he reached across the table to take her hands, "we've been together for two years now, and we've lived under the same roof for two-thirds of it. We know each other's thoughts, we tend to mimic each other, we almost always bathe together," they chuckled while blushing, knowing they do more than shower, "and, no matter how many times we fight, and no matter how many times you wanted to end our relationship, we always find our way back together."

Megumi felt a sickening swirl around in her stomach, making sense of everything that had been planned up to this moment. Her heart began to beat heavily to where she could hear it, the simplest of breathing felt so difficult and her palms started to sweat. It even seemed as though the restaurant had risen up the thermostat.

Apart of her hoped he was playing with her, or she was over thinking the matter, but another part prayed he wasn't. Ever since she was ten, she imagined a boy getting on his knees to propose, and then walk down an aisle to him with her father guiding her. Of course, she had no one by blood to give her away.

As on cue, Katashi released her sweaty hands and lowered to one knee while reaching into his pocket to pull out a small box. He opened it to show a glittering diamond ring inside. Megumi gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth, fighting to hold back her tears.

"It's not usually Japanese tradition to do this," continued Katashi, "but knowing your father was Canadian, I found this more appealing.

"Itashi Misaki Megumi, will you marry me?"

His last words had done it. Unable to control her emotions, tears streaked down her cheeks. She hadn't prepared herself for this moment. There was so much swirling around in her head that boggled her mind. She had been fighting with depression day in and day out concerning her loses. She had countless nightmares of her parent's and Hazuki's death. Even Hizumi had done its toll on her.

She still thought about him, how sweet he had been before she had found out the truth, and had thoughts about what kind of life they could have had. A small house either in Canada or Japan, kids with a cat or dog, and perhaps a nine-to-five job too. A few times late at night she had imagined being in bed with him. Megumi had even cheated with Katashi concerning her thoughts and had pictured Hizumi making love to her.

There was also Shoji and his gutsy kiss he had given her. She also had noticed how jealous he had been during her little unexpected journey back to Japan. He too had made it into her erotic dreams.

The reason why Megumi kept climbing into bed with Katashi was because of Amber's warning. The thought of following her mother's path and not being there for her unborn son frightened her more than any Contractor she would face or come across.

The path to her future lay before her, and she would take it. It's hard to say, but it was time for her to say goodbye to Hizumi and Shoji and start a new life with the man before her.

She dropped her hands, and said, "Yes. Yes, Katashi, yes I will."

He smiled, taking the ring out of its box to place it on her left ring finger and kissed as they rose. Guests around them began to clap, indicating to Megumi that they had had an audience.

Xxx

Heading down the street late at night in Tsuzuki, Yokohama was a policeman in uniform. He was short for an Asian man; face covered in acne and had thick dark hair.

He trotted down next to the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. It had dark and light brown stripes two feet in height, was twelve stories high, and two deep V-like grooves above the offices.

He walked across the street towards nine different types of apartment complexes, heading to a six story tan building that was rounded off on the left side of it in the mist of the structures.

The acne boy reach his complex, headed up to the fifth floor, and stepped before apartment 522. He stopped, noticing it was cracked open, and removed his gun before entering. Inside nothing seemed to be broken or stolen, but it didn't relax his nerves.

He checked his bathroom, seeing it was cleared, but before he could turn around, he was knocked out from behind.

Xxx

Hizumi lay on his futon in his rundown apartment trying to fall asleep. It was an impossible matter since Itashi Megumi was all he saw once he closed his eyes. The woman haunted him.

Feeling uncomfortable, he turned onto his side, but that did no good. In order for him to get a good night sleep, he had to peel her out of his brain. The problem was how?

There was a knock at his door.

Unable to drift off into slumber land, Hizumi stood and stepped before the door to peek through it. Cursing, the young reaper opened the door to reveal Madam Oreille. She wore a white button up blouse that bore cleavage, short black mini skirt and nylons, and black high-heels that seemed as though they could pierce the toughest of skins.

"Hi, Hizumi!" she smiled.

"Couldn't send your pet?" he asked.

"He hasn't been feeling well. Fur balls. I offered to take him to the vet, but he told me he'd swap bodies first."

"What is it that you want?"

"Megumi-chan's old partner, Hachi, escaped."

Hizumi knew since Hachi was out, he would go after one person.

"Where is she?"

"Yokohama." Hizumi stepped away from the door to begin gathering his stuff. He was going to leave tonight. "There's more. He also stole a very secret project the Americans had built."

He glared back at her and asked, "What kind of project?"

"Something even your father couldn't compete with."

Xxx

The acne man woke up, his head pounding with dry blood along the right side it, and found he was tied to a chair. He had blurry vision, but it slowly refocused and revealed he was in an abandon plant. Dim light was seeping through the demolished windows above, casting miniscule shadows from the supporting I-beams. The acne boy wasn't a detective, but he knew he was being held captive off the coast in a rundown shipping cargo plant.

"Awake finally," said a male voice. The acne boy turned to come face to face with Suzuki Hachi. "Hello, Officer Sakishima Akashi."

The officer's eyes widened, and babbled, "How…?"

"Did I escape? I didn't."

"But…? You were locked up in a secured cell. There was no way you could have walked out or just let go without the media knowing."

"I wouldn't worry about my release," Hachi squatted in front of him, "I'd be worried about you."

"What do you want?"

"For you to call Lieutenant Itashi Megumi here."

Xxx

Early in the morning at Katashi and Megumi's apartment in the Izumi ward, the young couple lay naked under the mangled sheets on a western style bed. Megumi's red dress and Katashi's outfit were spread out along a white rug. The window drapes had been shut to keep prying eyes out. A stand lay next to the bed with a holo clock that read ten a.m. next to Megumi and Katashi's phone.

In bed, Megumi lay on her stomach with the sheets covering the bottom portion of her body. Katashi was cuddled up next to her.

Unexpectedly, her phone began to ring.

Moaning, Megumi reached out for it, fiddled to turn on the speakerphone, and placed it to her ear.

"Itashi…" she sighed.

"_Ah, hey, Lieutenant, it's officer Sakishima."_

"Hm…!"

"_Ah, Captain Fujita told me to call you and… and… to check out a homicide in an abandon warehouse off of Metropolitan Expressway Bayshore Route in the Naka ward."_

"Hm…? You're jokin… righ…?" she mumbled. "It's my day off…"

"_Sorry, Lieutenant, but he insisted on you."_

"Fine… fine… But I'm going back to bed when the body's been cleared for departure."

"_I don't think the Captain will have an issue, Lieutenant."_

Megumi hung up her phone, tossing it back on the stand, and didn't move. It was peaceful like this. Her mind slightly awake, ready to fall back into a deep sleep next to her fiancé.

She loved the sound of that.

"You gonna go?" Katashi asked, whispering in her ear and bringing her back to reality.

"No… I lied… My day off… Capt'n can send someone else."

"He'll call back."

"Turned my phone off."

"I'll go with you, Megumi."

"Lets just stay… like this…" she sighed.

"I can't. I'm too wide awake now." Katashi slipped out from the bed, making her moan in protest. "I'll go for you."

Katashi entered the bathroom and turned on the shower moments later. Not wanting to move, Megumi laid miserably in bed from feeling abandoned. Growling in frustration, she threw off the covers and joined Katashi.

However, they had other ideas than cleansing their bodies.

"You think we have time?" Katashi asked.

"They can wait."

Xxx

Sakishima glared up at Hachi, showing anger in his eyes.

"I did what you asked, now let me go."

"Sorry, but I can't," replied Hachi, removing his gun and aiming it at him. "After all, you called in a homicide, and we can't disappoint Megumi."

He fired two shots, putting them in the left side of Sakishima's chest. He coughed up blood, as he glared down at the wounds, and then died.

Xxx

An hour later, Megumi and Katashi pulled up to the abandon building in a burgundy square-shaped car. Rain pummeled the city, cooling the air to give it a somewhat brisk feeling.

Behind the wheel sat Katashi, his hair neatly combed and dressed in a black suit with matching tie and dress shoes. However, Megumi was presented in yoga pants, tennis shoes, a Toronto Maple Leaf Jersey and her hair was done up in a ponytail.

"Don't know why you dressed up in this rain," she said, holstering her gun. "And besides, you're just going to slip out of it when we get back home."

"Its proper work attire, Megumi," he said, doing the same.

She smiled, but was short lived, as she noticed the abandon facility was truly abandon.

"Where is everybody?" she questioned. "They didn't take the body already, did they?" Megumi pulled out her phone and called Sakishima. Moments later, a male officer's hologram appeared. "Officer Yukawa, where's Officer Sakishima."

"_He hasn't shown up for work yet,"_ said the officer.

"What? That can't be?" she said, and repeated Officer Sakishima's statement.

"_A homicide? That's news to me."_ The officer fiddled on his screen for a minute. _"Nope. Nothing like that here."_

"Send backup!"

"_Why?"_

"Cause something bad happened to Sakishima and he's here."

"_On it, Lieutenant."_

Megumi hung up her phone and removed her gun, as did Katashi. They exited the car, trying to shield their heads from the downpour, and ran for the building. Once they reached a door, Katashi grabbed the handle while standing off to the side, as did Megumi across from him, and counted down with his fingers…

One… two… three…

He swung open the door, allowing Megumi in first with him following. They began scanning the huge, dusty, and rank building until a police officer tied to a chair came into view.

Cautiously, the couple drew towards him, waiting for any surprises. After reaching the officer, Megumi could tell it was Sakishima. They continued patrolling the area, but there was nowhere to hide.

Suddenly, a shot rang out to have Katashi yelp in pain and fall onto the ground. Her heart pounding, Megumi turned to see he had been shot in the back but still alive. She began to head towards him, but stopped as a familiar voice echoed throughout the building.

"Ah, ah, ahhh…! Megumi!" warned Hachi, stepping from behind an I-beam while pointing his gun at Katashi. "I'll finish him off if you make another move."

Megumi looked on dumbfounded, but shook it off, and as she was about to shoot Hachi, her right arm somehow snapped, having her drop the gun while screaming in pain. The next thing she felt was her right leg breaking to have her drop to her knees. Before Hachi, a teenage boy who was glowing blue appeared from behind an I-beam.

"Tsk, wrong move, Megumi." Hachi shook his head and put two more rounds in Katashi. Within seconds, he was lying motionlessly.

"NNOOO!" yelled Megumi, as his blood pooled around him.

Using her left arm, Megumi began reaching for her gun but she was shot in the shoulder to have her spin and fall onto the ground. Her nemesis and the Contractor walked up to Megumi who was breathing heavily. Hachi grabbed her jersey and forced her back into a kneeling position.

"I would have spared Katashi, maybe," he shrugged, "if you didn't put me in your sight. You were always stubborn."

"Kill me, Hachi. You know you want to."

"That was my first intention when I shot you. You're a lucky broad. Guess I'll have some fun now!"

Hachi punched Megumi with a right, followed by a left, and another right, causing blood to spew from her mouth. For sport, he kicked her across the face, putting her on all fours, and then kicked her continuously in her stomach.

There was a pop, believing her spleen had ruptured. If this brutality continued, she would be dead in twenty to thirty minutes.

A crack sounded, indicating a rib had broken, along with a second and then a third. Hachi kicked her face, making her fall onto her back, spewing out blood. Not satisfied, he kicked her side three times, cringing as she tried blocking them, and then was kicked across her face. She rolled onto her stomach, coughing and spitting up blood in agony. Megumi's jaw had been shattered and her lips and eyes were the size of golf balls.

With anger still bottled in his gut, Hachi stomped on her back, sending a heavy pain through it and felt as though it had been snapped.

Believing it would be all right if she reached him, Megumi began to crawl towards her beloved while leaving a smothered blood trail.

"Where do you think you're going?" yelled Hachi, kicking her stomach. He looked at his companion. "Pick her up, and don't use your power. I'll get more pleasure out of this." The Contractor did so, his arms laced under hers. Hachi glared into Megumi's bloody eyes, and growled, "You always had to be number one."

In response to his answer, Megumi spat blood in his face. Angered by it, Hachi performed a right hook across her face, followed with a left, and then continuously punched her stomach. The pain was so severe; it felt as though she was bleeding from within.

Breathing heavily and somewhat satisfied, Hachi nodded for the Contractor to release her. She dropped to a kneeling position and glared up at her assaulter. Face twitching from her appearance, he performed an upper cut to bust his hand and have her fall and lie on her back.

While trying to shake the pain away, Hachi took out his gun and pointed it at a squirming Megumi.

"You should have accepted your death two years ago," he huffed out. "Your mother, her partner, and Katashi. They would still be alive if not for you." He snorted a smirk. "Looks like your luck runs out here. Goodbye, Megumi."

The last thing she saw was a flash from the gun.

Xxx

_Megumi woke up, realizing she was __sitting__ up against a tree in a forest somewhere near a lake. Before her was an old man fishing off the shoreline, wearing a brim hat and sandals, white shirt under a tan vest, and white pants._

"_Awake, finally," said the man. "That long trip really took a toll on you."_

_Megumi knew that voice. She hadn't heard it in years._

"_Grandpa Naoyasu?" she questioned. "Am I… dead?"_

"_What?" he asked while looking over his shoulder. "Whatever happened to calling me Ganpy?"_

_Megumi blinked at him baffled. "I was like five when I called you that. Are you going to answer me?"_

"_I don't know? Do you want to be?" _

_Megumi glared at him dumbfounded, wondering what he was going on about._

"_Where am I, Grandpa?"_

"_Come sit next to me and help your Ganpy fish."_

_Sighing, Megumi did so, swatting the hook into the lake._

"_What's going on, Grandpa?"_

"_We're fishing."_

"_Grandpa! Am I dead? Is this…? Heaven…?"_

"_I don't know. Do you want it to be?"_

"_Of course not!" she yelled, glaring at him, but averted her eyes. "Well, maybe. Perhaps it's best that I am dead. I don't have to watch anybody else die. First Li-chan, you, then Ryo, Saitou, Dad, Mom, Hazuki and now… now…"_

_She didn't want to say her fiancé's name, knowing if she did, then it would confirm his death._

"_Your mom…? Dead? News to me?"_

"_What…?" Megumi asked, whipping her head towards him. "Wait, no… That can't be…? She's been dead for two years now. She died trying to protect me…"_

"_Sounds like Misaki." There was a tug on his line. "Oh! Your ganpy caught a big one." He spun in his line and pulled out a two-footer from the lake. "Oh, look at that! I'll be eating good tonight."_

"_Isn't that a sea Bass? Why is it in fresh water? Grandpa, would you talk to me!"_

"_All right. Am I a great Grandpa yet?"_

"_N—no…!" she shook her head in frustration. "Why am I here? What is here? Where do I go? What do I do?"_

"_Whatever reason you are here. Whatever you want it to be. Wherever you want to go. Do whatever you want."_

"_Grandpa! Stop talking in riddles and just tell me!"_

"_Me-chan. Do you remember what you asked me after Li-chan had died?"_

"_Yeah, I asked why God had to take him? I had asked my dad why Li-chan had died, and he told me because God had called upon him. I had asked him again why, he wouldn't give me an answer."_

"_And what was it that I told you?"_

"_We all have our purpose in life, whether if we believe in God or Buddha." A thought crossed her mind and glared at her grandfather. "Did you know about my curse too?"_

"_What do you think?"_

"_More riddles, Grandpa?"_

"_I'm not the one who is giving the riddles, Me-chan." Megumi glared at him baffled. "To get to my point about Li-chan. Even though his life was short, his purpose in life had been fulfilled."_

"_Meaning he had to die so I could continue living."_

"_And keep on living."_

"_Keep… on…?"_

"_Megumi, it's not your time yet. You still have much to do." Suddenly, her grandfather became hazy and started to fade out. "I love you, Me-chan…"_

Xxx

Pain began to develop throughout Megumi's body. Uncertain what to do or what was going on, she slowly began opening her eyelids, finding them heavy. As they peeled apart, her eyes seemed a little hazy, which caused her to blink, and forced them to focus and stare up at a ceiling. She turned her head to her right and saw her mother's best friend sleeping in a chair.

Megumi opened her mouth to speak but found it difficult. It was as though her mouth and throat were bone dry and her vocal cords had been ripped out. Not only that, she tried swallowing, hoping to wet her tongue and throat, but she found that difficult as well.

Struggling, she opened her mouth and forced herself to say, "Ka—Kana—mi—san?"

Kanami slowly opened her eyes, blinking them, and then they became widen with joy, as she said, "You're awake!" She looked towards the door. "Nurse! Nurse!"

"Wha…? Wha…?"

"Don't speak, Megumi-chan. You've been in a coma for two months."

Megumi looked at her baffled at how much time had been lost. Remembering the last thing, she began moving her right hand, but it felt like a ton of bricks. Mustering up enough strength, she raised her hand to her head and noticed it was bandaged.

"The bullet barely missed your brain, but it did cause major swelling," said Kanami. "They had to cut part of your skull out to relieve some pressure. Once it went down, they put in a hard synthetic skull."

Megumi blinked, taking in everything, which seemed as though it was giving her a headache. Moments later, a nurse entered, holding a holo tablet. She walked up to the bed, checked her vitals on the holo screen next to Megumi, and then she shined a light into her eyes.

The nursed smiled, saying, "Welcome back, Itashi-san. You're a lucky woman. If you'll excuse me, I'll let the doctor know you're awake. You should get some rest. The road to recovery is going to be a long one."

She left while tapping a few things on her tablet.

"Ka—Kata—shi…?" babbled Megumi.

She knew the answer, but she had to hear it before she would accept it: hoping there was a slim chance he was still alive.

"Megumi-chan, I think you should listen to the nurse and…"

"Ka—na—mi… please."

Kanami averted her eyes, tears forming in them from the distress the news she was about to deliver.

"I'm sorry. He was pronounced dead at the scene. If you hadn't called in back up, you would have died as well. You had a half an hour window at the least, and that was just speculation."

Megumi's inside entwined with hate, sorrow and turmoil, knowing why she had survived and Katashi had died. It was her curse, indicating to her it was still in full force. The time her mother and Hazuki had saved her from the assassin Contractor, and the sniper having a heart attack had been because of it. In order to protect the people she loved, she had to stay away from them.

"Megumi-chan, there's more you need to hear," spoke up Kanami. Megumi glared at her. Kanami opened her mouth, wanting to say what was on her mind, but she was finding it difficult. "Megumi… I don't… err…? You… you didn't lose… just Katashi."

Megumi looked at Kanami baffled. Someone else had died?

"How…? How can I… put this…?" Kanami babbled under her breath, averting her eyes for a few seconds. "You were… you were… you were…" She burst into tears. "You were a month pregnant."

Kanami's words rang through her ears, but they felt kilometers away while she struggled to make sense of everything, but they were clear as day. She couldn't believe her life and future had been stripped in an instant.

Tears escaped Megumi's eyes to where Kanami hugged her.

Xxx

On a partly sunny and windy day, in the city of Venice, Italy, Madam Oreille walked into the Plaza San Marco, the Cathedral Basilica of San Marco to her left. The Cathedral was doused in white, had five arches on the base, the gate leading into the church in the center, and five arches above, including two small domes with a massive one in the center on the roof.

The square was surrounded by two story white buildings with arches along the second floor, and littered with pigeons, tourists and residences.

She approached the Campanile di San Marco, a tower built out of bricks, featuring a pointy white rooftop, that stood across from the Cathedral. An old man sat next to it feeding the pigeons. He wore a raggedy sweater, holey blue jeans, depleted boots and a stained hat. His blue eyes gave a cold feeling.

Madam Oreille sat next to him, and said, "You're a hard man to find."

"Not interested," said the old man.

"You haven't heard what I have to say!"

"Still not interested."

"To me, looking at your outfit, I think you could use more cash." She pulled out an envelope and sat it next to him. "Apparently, a top secret project was stolen from Alaska a few months ago. It has made its appearance in Japan. Itashi Megumi and her short-lived fiancé were caught in the crossfire. She lived but he didn't."

"What a shame."

"Heartless, but not," she smirked, causing the old man to glare at her baffled. "It looks as though '_it'_ is hopping from one country to another. I got your son tracking things in America." She stood and looked down at him. "If you're interested, meet me at Duomo Cathedral in Florence in two days. If I don't see you by then, I leave for Pisa International Airport."

"Sayonara, Kuro no Shinigami."

Madam Oreille walked off, scaring the pigeons in the process. Hei watched her, thinking of her options.

Xxx

Two days later, Madam Oreille stood outside the Duomo Cathedral waiting for BK201. Clouds hung over the city, wind howling throughout the city with drizzles scattered about.

After waiting over five hours, she began to leave, but stopped when she noticed a man in a white button up shirt, blue jeans and black shoes with graying black hair appearing in the mist of the crowd.

She smiled, gazing at his smooth collarbones, pleased they hadn't aged.


	2. Chapter 2

DTB Gen New Season Two: The Ideal Contractor

Chapter Two: The Same Downward Path…

**One Month Later:**

Cloaked in black, Megumi leaned on a cane before Katashi's grave. The dozen roses she held in her left hand ruffled from gusty winds under a cloudy sky, along with her clothing and a few strands of bandages wrapped around her head. Her flat shoes were covered in mud from a previous storm.

Her hair had grown a couple of inches, except where she had had surgery. Due to Hachi's brutal attack, it had left Megumi handicapped for the rest of her life and unable to bear children. If it were not for modern day medicine, and hours of therapy, she would have been paralyzed from the waist down. Because of it, the Yokohama police department had given her an early retirement package.

Slowly squatting, Megumi placed the roses before his grave and stood. She placed her free hand on her stomach, as though believing she still was pregnant, and let a tear escape her right eye to have it land on the roses.

"I'm sorry, Katashi," she said, her brown eyes watering. "I'm so sorry. I feared my curse was still upon me. I shouldn't have gotten involved with you. I thought everything was fine being in Yokohama. I was wrong. It cost you your life." She dropped to her knees, spattering mud about, as her tears streamed down her cheeks. "It… it… It cost an innocent being's life.

"Katashi. I… I… I was… pregnant. I failed us. I failed… I failed to protect our child… Gomenasai… I didn't know… I pray that you will forgive me… Katashi-kun…."

Megumi continued pouring out her sorrow, feeling as though it would not end. She had not felt this much pain since her parents' death. It was as though someone had reached into her chest, squeezed her heart to where it was going to burst, and then clamped down on her lungs to the point where it was impossible to breathe.

Once she was able to regain her composure and strength, she slowly stood; balancing her weight on the cane while ignoring the mud stains on her pants, and headed for the exit. However, a huge bald black man built like a brick stood nearby.

He wore a tight black suit that looked as though the seams would split from his muscular form, sunglasses that looked to snap in half from his tight jaw line, and a well-folded red tie lying over a white button up shirt.

"Lieutenant Itashi Megumi," he said in English, his bass-like voice rattling her nerves.

"Yes?" she questioned, noticing his statement was not a question. "And it's just Itashi Megumi."

"So I have heard. That is why I am here."

Megumi's eyes twitched, and said, "And you are?"

"The name is Denard Gardner. I work for the CIA."

Megumi's redden eyes widened, piecing together why he was present, and began departing the graveyard.

"I'm sorry… but as you can see… I'm in no condition to join you guys," she stated, cringing in pain from each step. "And if I could… I still wouldn't."

"Hachi Suzuki knows you're still alive. He will come after you to finish the job."

"Let him come… and try… He's tried to kill me… three times already… and failed… No doubt… he'll fail again… thanks to my so-called luck."

Megumi walked past him, as he said, "Help us find him first and bring him in. He stole an important top-secret project of ours from one of our facilities."

"Sorry but… you're on your own… And don't be tailing me either… I may not be permitted to carry a gun… but I won't hesitate to hurt someone."

"Your mother is still alive!"

Megumi's body froze, her heart once again doused in pain she thought she had put at bay, and turned to face Gardner.

"How dare you!" she growled. "How dare you even say that? My mother is dead! She died protecting me because you guys couldn't see Richard Chaplin was pulling a fast one under your guys' noses."

"You really think so? You'd think Madam Oreille would ask the President for a pardon for her if she was dead?"

"She did that so my mother could have a proper burial."

"Some burial. What did you bury? A locket, was it?"

Megumi's jaw line tightened. If she were not handicap, she would have gone up and kicked him in the family jewels.

"Who do you think saved you from that Contractor in the stairwells at b Akasaka?" continued Gardner. "Who do you think left you with her blue Porsche so you could chase after the New Kuro no Shinigami?"

Pushing his glasses with his index finger, he smirked, and finished with, "Come now, you had to have had thought about it too."

Megumi glared at him, displeased at the position she was in. After thinking about it, she turned away, and said, "If she still is alive, there is a reason why she never contacted me, and so I am going to leave it at that."

"If you change your mind," spoke up Gardner, halting Megumi for a second time, "you know where to find us."

Snorting under her breath, she headed for her maize-colored car. Once she had finished struggling to sit in it, Megumi called Sakura on speakerphone.

"_This crap again!" _yelled the Intel woman. _"Get with the ages, people! Section Four department."_

"Sakura, it's Megumi."

"_Megumi? Oh, God! How are you?"_

"I'm fine. Can you tell me the Messier code of the Contractor who had attack me?"

"_No, I can't." _

"Come on, Sakura. I won't tell anybody you told me."

"_Megumi! I would, but there wasn't a Contractor who was active at the exact time you were attacked."_

Megumi's eyes narrowed, as her mouth dropped slightly.

"That can't be?' she disagreed with. "Emiko must have screwed things up at Astronomic . Kanami-san should have had taken over."

"_She didn't do anything wrong, nor Chou__," _assured Sakura._ "They called the Astronomy lab in the United States and they themselves saw no Contractor activity."_

"That's not possible!"

"_Sorry, Megumi. Are we done? This primitive talk is starting to give me a headache!"_

Since Sakura was unable to see her expression, Megumi frowned.

"Yeah, thanks," she said, and hung up.

Xxx

On a sunny and breezy day in San Francisco, Hizumi took a load off of a bench before a circular water fountain with two mermaids sitting back to back. A two-story building was presented behind him with a balcony on the top floor and a metal structure sign on the roof that read Ghirardelli Square.

To look more like a Californian, Hizumi wore a red abbreviated Hollister shirt, tan shorts, crooked retro baseball cap and strapped-on sandals. He had been waiting an hour for a_ Phoenix_ member to arrive. From the intel he had gathered, it seemed that his target usually picked up lunch here.

Like clockwork, his prey exited a restaurant with a bag full of food. He was pale in skin and looked to be fresh out of high school. The boy was muscularly toned, showing it off by wearing a tight white tank top with matching brown shorts. Due to walking like a tough guy, his sandals clanked to a one-two beat, and since his sunglasses were the size of softballs, he had to flip his flat brim hat backwards. On his neck was a tattoo that read _life_ in Chinese.

He headed to the western portion of the square, having Hizumi stand and follow while keeping a safe distance. Once they departed Ghirardelli Square, the boy descended a Z-shaped staircase and headed towards the ocean. He then turned right to have Hizumi mimic his motion.

Unexpectedly, the young man ran across the road. Cursing, Hizumi chased after him, forcing cars to halt while he slid over the hood of one that had cut him off.

The young man slipped between cars parked along the sidewalk, ran up a picnic table, frightening the individuals around it while spattering their meals about, and then hopped off. Making it look like child's play, Hizumi hurdled the table and gained some distance before they entered a one-acre park.

A group of people that were walking their dogs, and others who were out enjoying the weather looked on dumbfounded. The boy collided and pushed several people out of his path, knocking a girl in a polka dot bikini on her bottom, and having an old man fall flat on his face. With a swift and casual motion, Hizumi zigzagged between the sightseers as though they were traffic cones.

They hurried by a cable car, through a few trees nearby, and then exited the park to run across a street, forcing other cars to stop. Approaching a clutter of pedestrians, the young man ran and bulldozed his way through a few people to have Hizumi hop over a guy who had fallen on his bum and sidestepped a woman.

Once they reached the shopping centers, the young man demolished fruit stands and knocked shoppers' bags out of their hands in order to slow down Hizumi. To the boy's dismay, the young reaper vaulted the stand and squashed a few grapes, pears and apples under his black shoes.

The two men crossed a third street and stormed into a blue rental-parking garage. They ran up a staircase with Hizumi a few strides behind. On the second floor, a couple, laughing and oblivious of what was happening, was descending from the top floor. The young man plowed into them, knocking the man over the railing and on top of Hizumi.

Irritated, he pushed the man off him and continued his pursuit.

"Crazy fools!" shouted the man.

However, once he reached the top floor, the young man had disappeared. Grinding his teeth, Hizumi looked around the rooftop for his opponent. Suddenly, a red boxy car pulled out of a lot, and headed towards Hizumi. Inside was the young man who was smiling.

In a split second, Hizumi leaped out of its path and rolled to a kneeling position. Believing he had eluded his tail, the teenage boy chuckled and blazed down the ramp. Once he reached the first floor, a split blade pierced the roof, scaring the young man who steered his vehicle into a parked car.

Hizumi hopped off the roof, opened the door, and yanked the young man out to throw him up against the car.

"Where's the rest of your crew?" demanded Hizumi.

"Dunno, manno!" babbled the ghetto wannabe boy. His heart was pounding as loud as a drum. "We get these text messages. They tell us where to go. What Contractor manno to join. What manno or womanno to kill."

"Give me your phone!"

"What? Manno no! If they find out I gave it away. I'm dead, manno!"

"I'll kill you if you don't!" Hizumi growled, lifting him an inch off his feet.

The young man's eyes widened and then he peed his pants.

"Alright, manno, alright!" The young man reached into his pocket, pulled out an old flip phone, and handed it over. "We good, manno?"

Hizumi released his hostage so that the manno man could run off. Opening the phone, Hizumi looked at the recent message. As the young man had stated, there was only hit jobs. The latest one was to meet up with a Contractor in four hours.

It also had written out, _Contact words: On a boat. _

Xxx

Out on a two-lane road surrounded by trees late at night, Kanami headed home after a twelve-hour shift. She leaned back in her seat while lacing a strand of her brownish-blond hair over her ear and let out a sigh.

The cougar woman was concerned about Megumi's future. One instant, things were going well for her, and then it all had fallen apart. That was why she couldn't bring herself to tell Megumi that Hizumi had been at the harbor. She had no idea what her goddaughter would have done or had said. It was best to keep it from her.

Unbuttoning the top portion of her black blouse, Kanami wondered what life was going to throw at Megumi next.

A police vehicle came up behind her and turned on its lights. Baffled at why she was being pulled over as the car moved to the side, she pulled out her insurance and registration.

Moments later, the officer reached the driver side, having her lower the window, and said, "Yes, officer?"

"Step out of the vehicle," the officer informed.

He stood taller than a westerner, had a dark complexion and a sharp face. His eyes lay hidden from the dark sky.

"May I ask why?" Kanami asked.

"Do as I say!"

"Excuse me, but I know my rights!"

"You have no rights!" He began glowing blue, as two red beams shined where his eyes lay. Kanami's eyes widened. "Out or…" The fraud officer pointed his left index finger at Kanami's dashboard and shot out a red laser, melting a pinky size hole in it. The former lab woman gasped. "You die!"

"If this is about trying to set up a trap for Megumi," began Kanami, glaring at the Contractor, "then you might as well kill me."

"My employers figured you'd say that."

Opening the door, he grabbed Kanami by her arm and yanked her from the car. Not willing to go down without a fight, she struggled with her captive, stomping on his foot and digging her black high heel into it, and then elbowing him in the chest.

She began to run, but because of her heels and red mini skirt, Kanami was as fast as a tortoise.

The Contractor called on his power and shot a laser into her right heel, having her cry out in pain and stumble forward. He walked up to his victim, grabbed her by the collar, and dragged Kanami to his car, throwing her into the back. The Contractor entered and sat in the driver's seat, started up the car while shutting down the TCS function and headed off.

Xxx

Megumi entered her rundown apartment while turning on the lights. It was the size of an American minivan that barely had room to house a futon, microwave, small refrigerator and an old holo television. Not to mention, her clothes were disorderly scattered about. At times, she had to sniff a pair of socks to see if they were clean.

The walls were worn beyond washability and the tatami mats had stains that were impossible for a dry cleaner to clean.

It was the only place she could find after being released from the police force and getting evicted from hers and Katashi's place. Kanami was helping pay the rent until Megumi could find a job.

The young and worn out woman placed her cane against the wall and, in anguish, slowly slipped off her mud stained black flat shoes. She sat on her futon, cringing from the pain, picked up her tablet to turn it on and began looking for a job.

There was an opening for a sushi chef a few yards from her, a convenient store hiring part-timers, McDoness looking for managers full-time, and someone wanted a nanny.

Megumi discarded the nanny ad; due to the fact she didn't want to deal with whiny kids. The McGrease burger job was out of the question. Foremost, forget about the chef position since her cooking skills equaled her mother's.

There were others but they wanted a minimum of four years of Todai college experience, which left the convenient store.

She filled out the résumé; cringing that they would deny her due to the time and years she had spent in the police force, and sent it.

As on cue, they sent back a rejection message.

Sighing, she turned off her tablet. Perhaps returning to the police force wasn't a bad idea. Getting killed by a criminal or Contractor was better than starving. Even still, Megumi had another two months before she was work ready and that would be limited. The money she was collecting from her injury wasn't helping and it expired at the end of the month.

No, that was no longer her life. She would finish her last eleven cursed years of her life as a civilian and nothing more. Thinking about it, McDoness wasn't a bad idea. Perhaps the company would allow her to wear nose plugs.

Her phone began playing _Ghost_ by _Gackt_.

Megumi looked at it to see Kanami's cheeky hologram smile and answered it. To her surprise, a vexed looking plump-faced woman appeared on it.

"_So you're the lucky Itashi woman I've been hired to kill," _she smiled.

"Who are you?" questioned Megumi. "What have you done with Kanami-san?"

The plump woman motioned the phone to her left, showing a taped up Kanami in a chair next to a man that stood as tall as the length of her room. He was messing around with a small tablet, as though playing a video game. The image rotated back to the woman.

"_Come to your fiancé's last stand, alone. If you don't, she dies."_

The plump woman ended the link.

Megumi cursed, knowing she was at a disadvantage. Since Tokyo was under American law, anybody could conceal a gun, but anywhere else in Japan was illegal. No doubt the plump woman and her companion took that into account.

In spite of that, she still had an ace up her sleeve. The problem was Kanami getting caught in the crossfire.

Xxx

Megumi pulled up to the abandoned warehouse and struggled to exit her car. The wind howled, whipping at her collared shirt and kaki black pants, and forming vast waves that crashed against the docks. Her green and white sneakers cushioned her aching feet and ankles. After closing the door, she wobbled over to the deteriorating building.

The young woman entered it to see Kanami facing her in the spot where Katashi had lost his life. The gore was still present, along with Megumi's blood nearby. To the left of her stood the plump woman with the colossal man behind them.

Shaking her head, Kanami pleaded for Megumi to leave, but her goddaughter ignored it and approached them.

Once she was within twenty yards, the plump woman swished her long black hair out of her dark eyes and pointed a gun at Megumi. She gave off a spine-chilling feeling from her ivory button up trench coat, jet-black nylons and bleached-looking high heel boots. Her comrade was the opposite in a police outfit, as he fiddled with a holo game of _Angry Birds and the Twenty-First and a Half Century_.

"That's far enough, sister," said the plump woman, halting Megumi next to an I-beam. The woman gazed over at her partner. "You can put that away now."

"I still have another hour until I fulfill my obeisance," he said.

"Finish it later."

The Contractor turned off his game and pocketed his device.

"Let Kanami-san go," demanded Megumi.

"Oh, no, no," the plump woman said, shaking her head. "It doesn't work that way."

"Why not? I'm here and you want me dead, not her. She doesn't need to be tied up in this mess anymore."

The plump woman pointed the gun at Kanami's leg and fired. The bullet shot out the other side, spraying blood from it, as the middle-aged woman screamed, having Megumi look on startled.

"Now that I have your attention, and full cooperation, you will do as I say," threatened the plump woman. "You will get on your knees and put your hands behind your head."

Jaw line tightened, Megumi was furious her plea had no persuasion and followed the orders. Unexpectedly, at the corner of her right eye, she saw a familiar double end split knife enclosed in the I-beam. She was sure it had to be the Black Reaper or Hizumi's blade. What was it doing here?

"Much better," spoke up the plump woman, distracting Megumi's thoughts.

"No doubt you work for the same non-contract agency that sprung out Hachi," said Megumi.

"Still the detective, I see," she nodded. "Yes, you would be right."

"Who are they?" The plump woman tightened her grip, showing she wasn't pleased with Megumi poking for information. "What's the harm? I'm going to die, and then you're going to kill Kanami-san since she can I.D. you in a line up."

The plump woman smiled.

"I like you. Too bad I have to kill you. All right. I'll tell you. That Contractor and I work for an agency that call themselves, 'The Phoenix.'"

"The Phoenix?" questioned Megumi, her hazel eyes glaring devilishly. "That sounds like a stupid name."

"Hn!" snared the plump woman.

"Why'd you break Hachi out of prison? Why steal the U.S.'s big project?"

"Enough of the chit-chat!" The plump woman walked up and placed her gun to Megumi's bandaged forehead. "Suzuki Hachi sends his regards."

Megumi prayed her curse was still intact and hoped Kanami wasn't going to be caught in the crossfire.

The plump woman began to pull the trigger.

In a split second, Megumi reached and snatched up the blade, and stuck it into the plump woman's left foot. As she howled in pain, Megumi yanked out the bloody knife and shoved it into her opponent's stomach.

Looking dumbfounded, the vexed woman gazed down at the knife, dropped to her knees while letting go of the gun, and fell sideways dead, her dark eyes staring at nothing in particular.

The hazel-eyed damsel reached for the gun, but had to pull back her arm, as the Contractor fired a beam and sizzled the concrete floor.

Megumi yanked out the blade and threw it at the Contractor. Unfortunately, he shot it out of the air, and then shot another, having the crippled woman roll out of its path, as it struck the deceased woman's forehead.

After settling into a kneeling position, Megumi realized the Contractor had her locked in his sights. He began highlighting blue, but as he shot, Kanami mustered all her strength and shoved into him, sending the beam wide right. Taking the opportunity, the brunette woman snatched up the gun and fired a shot into her opponent's head. Not knowing what had hit him, he fell backwards dead.

Feeling as though she had fought against a professional wrestler, Megumi dropped the gun and tenderly stood to limp over towards a demolished blade shard. She painfully bent over on her good leg, picked it up and continued over to the brownish-blonde haired woman to cut the duct tape.

Once Kanami's hands were freed, she ripped the tape from her mouth, and stood to embrace Megumi.

"You shouldn't have come," said Kanami. "Your life is more important than mine."

"I… I know, but…" mumbled Megumi, blinking her eyelids as they began watering. "You're all I have left."

Kanami pushed her at arm's length, looked into her brown eyes, and said, "I'm glad you came to rescue me, but… Megumi, you're lucky there was a knife."

"It wasn't luck. My curse is still in effect."

The brownish-blonde haired woman's eyes widened, and then threw her arms around Megumi again.

"Even if you're right about your curse, you shouldn't have come. Like Misaki, I would willingly give my life up for you."

"I… I know," wept Megumi, her tears streaming down her cheeks.

Xxx

Denard Gardner sat in his office at the CIA embassy in Yokohama, sorting through things on his computer. Word had gotten to him of Megumi and Kanami's narrow escape from a woman who was known as Beatrix, and a Contractor with the Messier code VC657. In his opinion, the method was brash and ludicrous.

At the moment, Gardner was reading reports about locating and apprehending Suzuki Hachi and the CIA's stolen billion-dollar investment. Unfortunately, it wasn't going so well. They had lost over one-dozen men and women, Contractors, Dolls, and other resources. They had made their perfect weapon too perfect.

Throwing his glasses on to his desk, he leaned back in his chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose. If he were to bet, Denard believed even BK201 wouldn't be able to take down the ghastly boy.

How was he supposed to stop the menace and capture the boy without killing him?

There was a knock at his door and then it opened to reveal a dark-skinned woman in her late twenties. Her blouse was bleach white, making it seem as though her navy blue skirt was darker in color, and had on black nylons that were tightly bound to her legs. Her high heels clanked on the floor, as she stepped into the office.

Her dark hair was done up in a bun, except a few purple-colored strands that hung before her light brown eyes, which were hidden behind small-rectangular glasses.

"Sorry, Mr. Gardner, but there is an Itashi Megumi here to see you," she said.

Megumi entered and leaned on her cane before Denard.

"Thank you, Aaliyah," he said. "That will be all."

"Yes, sir."

Aaliyah turned on her heels and exited the office while closing the door.

"Have a seat." He gestured to a chair before him.

"Thank you, but I'll stand," informed Megumi. Denard nodded. "I decided to join you. If I don't, then the group that had attacked me twice will continue to hound me and continue to use Kanami as bait. I think it's best that I leave, to join a group of people I don't know, and, at the moment, don't care about.

"On a few conditions. The first is, don't assign me to Contractors. They think rational, and I can't have that. Secondly, don't go sending me on wild goose chases concerning Madam O, my mom if she really is alive, and the Black Reapers. I… want… Suzuki… Hachi… And last!" The hazel-eyed woman's jaw line tightened. "When I find him, I get to kill him."

"Done!"

Megumi looked at him baffled, speculating there would be an issue concerning her last request.

"Really?" she questioned.

"As long as you don't kill the Contractor, we don't care. I can put it in writing if you'd like?"

Xxx

Wearing similar clothes as the young man, Hizumi stood in front of the old brown Saint Mary's Cathedral late at night. The upside down V-shape roof and bell tower was barely visible in the late hours.

A few minutes after arriving, a woman with a tan complexion, wearing brown clothes, approached. Her long curly black hair fluttered as she walked, and her dark pupils were noticeable from the whites of her eyes.

Spotting Hizumi, she walked over to him, her brown flat shoes as quiet as a whistle.

"I like to look up at the night sky…" said the woman.

"On a boat," replied Hizumi.

"Not what I expected," she stated.

"I get that all the time," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Who's our target?"

"A young college student at California University. This is she." The woman showed a hologram picture of an Asian woman with silky long hair. "Her name is Suzy Lu. Her father has a contract to sell us weapons, but he's cut us off. We are to kidnap her, call her father and demand him to continue selling us weapons."

"Sounds easy enough."

"Yo, womanno, he the wrong manno!" shouted the young man, as he hurried over to them. "I'm the real manno. He's a fake."

The woman gazed at the young man, and said, "What I had expected."

She highlighted in blue, her eyes burning red, and sent out a blast of air from her right hand. The hurricane-like wind tore through the air, having Hizumi hop out of its path and throw a blade to have it cast aside. Another blast was sent, forcing him to dodge to his right and then somersaulted to his left.

Hizumi rolled to his feet and glared at the Contractor while thinking of how to kill her.

The female Contractor shot out a fourth blast, but it was directed over his head and made him wonder where she was aiming. However, he received his answer as the church's bell tower was destroyed and mangled bricks fell on him. Surprisingly, the bell had been unharmed.

"That's what you get for messing with the Phoenix, manno!" the teenager laughed. "You should have left things alone, manno!"

The female Contractor walked up and looked down at him. She pulled out a piece of glass, placed it in her mouth, and chewed before swallowing it.

"You are cute," she said. "If it weren't so irrational, I'd ask you out. But instead," the woman raised her hand at him, "I have to kill you. What a waste."

"Yeah! Bye, bye, manno!" chuckled the young man.

Unexpectedly, a wire was flung from above, wrapping around the teenager's neck, and then yanking him ten feet off the ground. A man in black wearing a white mask dropped from above and embedded the wire into the ground.

The woman Contractor gazed at it baffled and used her power to snap the line to have the boy flop next to the man in black. The masked man was about to attack, but stopped as the female aimed her hand at Hizumi.

"You move, he dies," she warned.

"Man…no…! Not… cool…!" he coughed, pulling out a nine-millimeter to aim it at his predator. "And… stupid. No body messes… with the Phoenix… manno." The man in black raised his hands and slowly stood. Clearing his throat the young man continued saying, "What should we do with him, womanno?"

"He looks to be a problem. Kill him! This other one we'll leave alive for a while and question who he works for."

"Yeah! You hear that, manno? You're a dead manno! And what's with the outfit? You supposed to be somebody?"

"Kuro no Shinigami," said the man in black.

"What was that? I'm sorry, manno, but I don't speak Chinese."

"It's Japanese. And it means, the Black Reaper!"

With quick reflex, the man in black grabbed the kid's hand, twisted it, and shot a round into his heart.

Looking dumfounded at it, the teenage boy said, "Yo… manno… That… fu… fu…"

He fell backwards and died. Hei glared at the Contractor who still held her palm towards Hizumi.

"Don't move, or he's dead," she demanded. "I mean it."

"Go ahead. After he's dead, what then?"

Knowing she had no other choice, she pointed her hand at Hei and fired. Like old times, he whipped out his wire to hook it on a light pole and flew off. The Contractor shot the pole to shatter it. Hei tumbled for a second before regaining his bearings and hooked onto another pole. Changing his path, he aimed towards the female and plowed into her.

Disconnecting his wire and performing a somersault landing, Hei pulled out his knife to swing it, but his opponent blasted him in the chest and threw him backwards. During his duration in air, the Contractor shot another blast of air to have Hei bust through a building's window across the street.

The female Contractor walked up to the building, picked up a piece of glass and began chewing it. As she swallowed the glass, she noticed Hei wasn't present.

"He's still alive?" she questioned.

Turning around, the Contractor was faced with ice blue eyes, and was struck in the throat. The glass she had swallowed ended up piercing her esophagus, causing her to choke and drop to her knees.

Drowning in her own blood, she realized his coat had been shredded and somehow took the blunt force of her attack, and then fell forward dead. Her star mimicked her actions seconds later.

Hei walked over to his son and dug him out of his momentary grave.

"You're getting soft," said Hei.

"Tsk, I had it under control!" yelled Hizumi, standing and brushing the dust off.

"Think faster next time. And also, you shouldn't have let the boy live."

"You've been following me since then?" Hizumi frowned.

"I've been keeping an eye on you for the past week."

The Reaper boy glared at his father, disbelieving he had had a tail for so long. He then grinded his teeth, and said, "Why are you here anyways."

"Madam Oreille hired me."

"Oh, so you just reenlisted. What's the real reason? Money? Stay out of my way, old man!"

Hizumi walked over to the corpse to search it, found another flip phone, and opened it to search through the primitive device. As like the last one, there was nothing. He wanted to find this group since they had the galls to try and kill Megumi.


	3. Chapter 3

DTB Gen New Season Two: The Ideal Contractor

Chapter Three: Be Told The Truth

**Three months ago:**

Swinging across the city of Yokohama, Hizumi's black coat wavered in his wake while surprisingly his white mask stayed on. He soared towards the abandoned harbor where Megumi had called backup a few minutes ago, hoping it was not too late.

Minutes later, the young reaper landed in the parking lot, noticing Megumi's car nearby. The next thing he heard was a shot from inside.

Heart pounding heavily, Hizumi stormed inside where a male body lay in a pool of blood and Hachi was standing over Megumi. Anger soaring through his veins, he threw his blade. Unfortunately, it was knocked up against an I-beam.

Standing nearby was a teenage boy highlighted in blue with glowing red eyes. Before Hizumi knew it, the Contractor boy began to use telekinesis and took a hold of his neck, as if to snap it.

With his hands still mobile, Hizumi quickly threw another knife at the Contractor; who unwillingly released his grip and teleported behind his prey. Hizumi began to perform a roundhouse kick, but was knocked back ten feet by an invisible force. Landing on his side, the spawn of BK201 skidded a few yards.

"Kill him and make it quick," said Hachi. "Backup should be here soon."

Holding out his hands, the Contractor used his power to pick up his prey by the neck. Being choked to death, Hizumi flung his wire to have it wrap around the teen boy's outstretched arm and highlighted in blue.

Dumbstruck, the Contractor teleported, as an electrical shock ran through the wire and reappeared next to Hachi. The Contractor began to attack once more, but his partner stopped him. Sirens could be heard in the distance.

"Time to go!" informed Hachi. "Chibi Shinigami won this battle, but at a price." He smiled at Megumi's body. "It's a pleasant sight to finally see her dead."

"I would not say such things if I were you!" Hizumi threatened.

The Contractor took a hold of Hachi and disappeared. Freed, the young reaper threw off his mask, shattering it, and ran over to kneel before Megumi.

He could not believe she was dead.

Hizumi scooped Megumi up and cuddled her in his arms. Fighting desperately to hold back his tears, he began cradling her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I could not make it in time," he whimpered. "Forgive me."

Suddenly, a soft breath huffed into his ear.

Startled, Hizumi laid Megumi on her back, placed his finger on her neck and found a faint pulse.

There was still time.

However, as he was about to pick her up, reinforcements barged in.

"Freeze, police," the leader shouted.

With no choice in the matter, Hizumi whipped out his line and soared into the rafters. Bullets began to pulverize the area, bouncing off the beams and his coat. One shattered a window in which he ran towards and performed a leap of faith. Whipping out his wire, he hooked it onto a pole and flew off.

"After him!" demanded the second in commanded.

"Belay that order," yelled the captain, after checking Megumi. "She's still alive! Get the paramedics in here, now!"

**Present:**

On a cool sunny morning, a maize car pulled up to the CIA embassy's gate. A Caucasian teenaged-looking soldier, standing with a persistent stance, held out his right hand to her.

The car window rolled down to reveal Itashi Megumi. To cover her scarred head, she had on a brown shoulder length wig with bangs. The soldier stepped before Megumi to gaze down at her, noticing the two top buttons on her white shirt were undone and revealing her black bra.

He blushed.

"Hem, hem!" coughed Megumi.

Yanked out of his daze, he focused on her brown eyes.

"Name state and your business," he said, scrambling his Japanese.

"Megumi Itashi, here to start my first day," she said in English, holding up a badge, "And it's 'State your name and business,'" she corrected in Japanese.

"Ah, yes, thank you, miss."

The soldier ushered her through, having her drive towards a six-story, stain-glass structure that was sandwiched between two other buildings. Her car pulled up to the front door where an African-American waited next to a wheelchair.

He was decked out in a black suit and tie; dress shoes polished to where a person could see his or her reflection and a buzz cut blended into a well-trimmed beard.

The dark-skinned man opened the door for Megumi and gestured for her to settle in the wheelchair.

"Miss, I am here to take you up to your floor," he said.

Frowning at the propelled wheelchair, Megumi grabbed her cane, and struggled to exit the vehicle. She straightened out her black kaki pants and settled on her black flat shoes.

"I don't need a chauffeur," she declined. "I can manage myself."

"I'm sorry, miss, but Agent Gardner demands that you be seated in a wheelchair during your time here."

"Fine then, I'll leave."

"I'm sorry, miss, but the men at the gate are authorized not to open it again for you until they are given the okay by Agent Gardner."

"Isn't America the land of the free?" she questioned, her left eye squinting. "I would consider this unconstitutional, wouldn't you?"

"You would be right, but you are not an American. Now if you would please."

Megumi's jaw line tightened, and with Japanese and Canadian pride, she walked into the building. Pushing the empty chair, the African-American followed. Inside, the lobby was small, decked out in white marble tiles from the floor and walls, to the security desk that stood behind a metal detector.

Megumi stepped through and set it off. The security guard looked at her peculiarly.

"I have pins in my right leg and back," she said, pointing at it.

The guard took out a handheld metal detector to swipe it across her damaged areas. It beeped in the areas Megumi had mentioned. He waved her and her chauffer through to step before two elevators. Once one opened, they entered it with the African-American pressing number six and ascended. Moments later, the elevator reached its floor and opened the doors to a spacious department occupied by a dozen cubicals.

The odd couple exited and headed over to where Denard Gardner waited a few meters away next to Aaliyah.

He looked displeased.

Gardner looked at Aaliyah, and said, "I will talk with you later. "

"Yes, sir," she replied, and left.

"I thought I had told you to wheel her up here, Agent Smith," he reminded. Agent Smith informed him of Megumi's decision. His eyes focused on hers. "While working for us, you will follow our rules."

"Your rules? To me, right now, you're holding me against my will," challenged Megumi. "It's not right. It's against the law."

"If you want to leave, you can leave."

"Thank you!"

Megumi began to reenter the elevator.

"How's the job hunting going, Miss Itashi?"

Jaw line tightening, she turned while teetering on her cane, and gave him a dirty look.

"Fine, I'll stay, but I refuse to be wheeled around in a…"

Agent Smith took a hold of Megumi's collarbone, squeezed it to have her cringe, and forced the newly found agent into the wheelchair.

"Now that that's settled," said Gardner.

He headed towards the back, zipping around the cubical with Smith and Megumi in tow. Upon arriving at a door that read, 'Conference room,' Denard entered it. Inside sat a plump acne boy, and an elegant woman sitting next to each other at a round table.

The boy had long black hair that hadn't been combed recently and had on black nineteen-fiftyish style spectacles. The stripe red and black t-shirt he wore was too short and tight, his jean shorts hung loose that revealed a vertical smile, and had on green tennis shoes.

The elegant woman looked to be in her thirties. The way she presented herself reminded Megumi of her mother, except that her outfit was black and was unbuttoned at the top. Her long blonde hair hung loose and she wore no glasses to conceal her greenish-blue eyes.

The three rounded the table and took their places, Gardner between them with Megumi being parked to his right.

"Everybody already knows who Megumi is," said Gardner. "Megumi, I'd like you to meet Agent Olivia Bishop," he nodded towards the blonde woman, "and Freddy Fry. You already had met Agent Smith."

Megumi nodded, however, Olivia gave a disapproving look while Freddy blushed from being around attractive women.

Looked as though these two were winners.

"Down to business," continued Gardner. "Everybody here knows of what had happened two months ago concerning our vicinity being attacked and a top-secret project being stolen by Hachi Suzuki. You all were hand picked to help find and kill him and bring back our project in one piece.

"What you all don't know is that the top-secret project is a Contractor the CIA created. We call him Ubi"

Olivia's head twitched when Freddy's eyes widened, as though a major breakthrough had surface. Megumi glared on devilishly.

"You guys… created a… Contractor…?" questioned Olivia. "How?"

"That's not important," stated Gardner, shaking his head.

"Yes it is. We're risking our lives to cover your ass."

"I can't say, because I wasn't given the information about it. All I can tell you is that he has more than one power, isn't linked to any stars in the sky, doesn't have a hint of emotion what-so-ever, and he doesn't have a price."

"Err, back up a second," spoke up Megumi. "He doesn't have a star?"

"That is correct."

That would explain why there wasn't any Contractor activity picked up by the lab.

"You Americans!" the Itashi woman laughed. "Heck of war fighters, but stupid when it comes to building things. You guys are your own worst enemies."

Gardner glared at her for a moment, and then averted it to address the room.

"His powers are," he continued, "telekinesis, invisibility, teleportation, and he can freeze time."

Megumi bit her bottom lip. She already knew about the telekinesis, but the invisibility explained why Katashi and she had not seen them at the warehouse. Perhaps it was a bad idea to join the CIA.

"Do we know where they are heading or where they are at?" Olivia asked.

"We believe they are in North America at the moment. The last place they were spotted was roaming around in Texas. They've been doing odd jobs. It seems to be random patterns."

"They weren't random," said Megumi. "If the non-contract agency stole a _perfect _Contractor, then I'm willing to bet it all means something."

"I would have to agree," said Olivia. "What have they been doing?"

"Killing groups of people, kidnapping kids, stealing hardware, materials and weapons," informed Gardner.

"Do we have names of the victims?" Megumi asked.

"Richard Simon, Samantha Cunningham, Jeffery Biggs and a few others that have been off the grid for a while"

"Non-contract agents," guessed Megumi.

"I wouldn't jump to conclusions," said Olivia. "People in our profession shouldn't do that."

"I've heard that line before. Quite frankly, I have done it over a dozen times and came out on top."

"Like capturing BK201 or his kid?"

Megumi's well-known habit surfaced.

"Whwhwhwhat… typeof… type of… hard, hard, hardware… and… and… ma…ma…material, they steal?" asked Freddy.

"Stuff to house and make Dolls out of."

"Sounds like they're preparing for war," said Megumi. "Do we have any clue where they're going to hit next?"

"It's unclear. They keep hopping from one country to another."

"Wouldn't all that hopping around wear on the Contractor?" questioned Olivia. "He'd have to take a breather to regain his strength."

"Ubi was built to sustain that type of abuse," informed Gardner.

"You must be joking? Does he have any weaknesses?"

"No."

_Everything or anybody has a weakness, _Megumi thought.

"We have been able to track a few attacks here in Japan," said Gardner. "However, Ubi isn't the Contractor who has been doing the killing. YG809, FD312 and, of course, BV546. The Contractor who attacked Megumi and Kanami."

"Any idea where this group might be, where they're going to hit next, or what they call themselves?" Olivia asked.

"The Phoenix," said Megumi, having the four others look at her. She informed them of BV546's partner and her last words.

"At least we have a name now," said agent Smith.

"As for their whereabouts," spoke up Gardner, "we were unsuccessful at abstracting any memory from BV546 or his partner. As like with all non-contract agents we have come across, they had a small vial in their brain that triggers to go off and disintegrate their brain once they are dead.

"However, a text message had been sent to the woman's phone of a location. Shinjuku, Tokyo in the JR line train station.

Megumi frowned. No matter how hard she tried, she could not escape the shadows of the disarray city of Tokyo.

Xxx

Megumi sat in a red boxy car next to her brainiac partner who was typing hysterically on his holo laptop. Olivia, agent Smith and Gardner were staking out inside the JR line. It was pouring rain, making things more intense for Megumi.

"Anything?" she asked her so-called partner.

"N…no. Too… too many… pe… people…" he stuttered.

Megumi sighed, tapped the COM in her ear, and said, "Anything from you guys?"

"_If there was, we would have informed you,"_ spoke up Olivia.

"_Just relax, Agent Itashi. Our target will show him or herself," _said Gardner.

Grinding her teeth, Megumi turned off her link and cursed. She hated sitting in the car instead of being in the midst of the action. Perhaps it had been a mistake taking the job if she was going to be sidelined.

Irritated, Megumi grabbed her cane, opened the door and exited the car.

"Whe…?"

"For a walk to stretch my legs," she informed.

"But…"

"I'll be fine."

Slamming the door, the former Foreign Affairs woman began hobbling down the street while being doused from the cold rain. A few civilians hurried through the heavy downpour, some used umbrellas while others did as Megumi.

Megumi entered the JR line, noticing it was jam packed courtesy of the weather. Entering a nearby store, she headed towards the back to grab a drink. It was small in size that it was only able to fit two aisles the length of a car and a four-door refrigeration unit along the back wall. The young agent stepped before the refrigerator, opened one of the doors to pull out a Coke, and headed for the front counter.

After purchasing her drink and taking a sip, Megumi began roaming the station. The last time she was here was chasing Hizumi. There were too many bad memories in this city.

From walking ten minutes, her back and legs began to throb in pain. She took a seat on a bench to relax and took another drink. Setting the drink beside her, Megumi started performing stretching exercises.

At the corner of her left eye, a Caucasian man standing near a holo newsstand seemed to be sweating heavily in a cool environment. He was gazing around the station with his hands in his tan coat, as though holding something. Occasionally, he would swish his black pant legs about with his sketcher shoes kicking the ground and took out his right hand to run it through his dark hair.

Slowly and painfully, Megumi rose from the bench and headed towards the suspicious man. Once she reached him, she pretended to watch the holo newsstand broadcasting the weather.

"You believe this crap," said Megumi to the sweaty man, looking at the screen. "When will this cold rainy weather end? My body can't take this anymore."

It was true. Due to the on going low temperatures, chills ran throughout her body from the metal pins. It was as though some unknown being from above wanted to make her life miserable after all the rubbish she already had to deal with.

The sweaty man didn't respond.

Gazing at him, Megumi continued with, "I mean, come on! Although, it's not as bad as what North America had faced in 2014 during winter. What my dad had told me, it was ridiculous. I was too young to remember."

He still ignored her.

"You okay, sir?"

The sweaty man glanced at her, put on a fake smile, and said, "I'm fine. Just waiting for someone."

"Oh, sorry. Girlfriend?"

"No, " he said, irritated.

"Boy…friend…?"

"No."

"It's all right, sir. You don't have to be shy about it."

"I'm far from gay! I'm waiting for a co-worker. Would you leave me alone?"

"Okay, fine," Megumi raised her hand, as though pretending to take a hint and walked off. She tapped her COM. "I think I found our man. Northwest corridor by the newsstand."

"_That's in the building!" _shouted Gardner. _"I thought I told you to stay in the car!" _Megumi explained her aching pain. _"Next time wait until you get home! Olivia, __Smith__!"_

"_On it," _spoke up Smith.

"_Heading there now," _said Olivia.

Megumi disconnected the link and muttered, "You're welcome."

Breathing out heavily, Megumi turned to watch the target, however, he was missing. Suddenly, a gun was shoved into her hip.

"Don't move," said the sweaty man.

"Oh my… oh Gosh!" Megumi began playing, dropping her Coke while holding up her hands. "I'm just a cripple trying to stay dry and weather out the storm."

"Liar," the sweaty man repeated her conversation a few seconds ago. "I can hear things from three kilometers away."

"Contractor!" stated Megumi. "Just my luck. I take it sweating is your obeisance."

"Yes, it is, Agent Itashi," commented a dark-skinned man.

He was slightly taller than Megumi, average build, and had on a red silk shirt that would have had her in debt until she was two hundred years old. His black pants looked to be in the ballpark, but was probably pricey to match the alligator boots. The thing that did not cost him an arm and a leg was his goatee.

He stepped beside her, yanked out the COM and crushed it under his boot. "How about we go for a walk. I'm sure you don't want innocent bystanders killed, and so that your partners don't come barging in on us."

The non-contract agents guided Megumi off, heading for a sign that said, 'Employees Only,' entered it, and then gestured towards the back door. Once through, the dark skinned man pointed his gun at Megumi's head.

"I guess, since you're here, Rita and BV546 failed," he said. "They were supposed to drop off your dead body. How pleasant you brought yourself."

"Where can I find Hachi?" demanded Megumi.

Smiling, the dark-skinned man said, "So bold to ask about your old partner when you're about to die."

"I'm not the one who's going to die."

Chuckling, Megumi's judge, jury, and executioner cocked back his gun.

"Oh, crap, OH CRAP!" yelled somebody from above. "OI! LOOK OUT BELOW!"

The non-contract agents looked up, as did Megumi. Four-stories high, an Asian man lost his grip on an old fashion air-conditioner, having it fall and land on top the Contractor's head. Blood and brain spattered on his partner and along the ground. Crapping his trousers, the dark-skinned man aimed his gun upwards and fired, freaking out the Asian man and having him jump back.

Taking the opportune moment, Megumi swung her cane to smash it across the dark-skinned man's face, having him drop his gun. She then struck his stomach, but doing so, put her back out, and she dropped to her knees.

Blood seeping from his mouth, the dark-skinned man glared furiously at her, as he pulled out a pocketknife.

"Die!" he growled.

He was going to shove it into her neck, but missed from Megumi dropping to her side and grabbed his gun to put a round in his chest, killing him.

Painfully, Megumi crawled over to the dark-skinned man and searched his pocket. Locating his phone, she opened it and found a message.

It read:

_Bring Megumi Itashi's body to the rundown apartment complex outside the city at twenty hundred hours. Room 100._

Jaw line tightening, Megumi pocketed the phone.

Seconds later, Olivia, agent Smith and Gardner appeared from the train station armed, looking at her dumbfounded.

"You're welcome," said Megumi.

Xxx

Sitting on a bench in the University of California campus, Hizumi watched for Suzy Lu. The sun was beating down and cooking his neck. He wore his usual getup, but also threw on a pair of rounded glasses and had a brown bag filled with books beside him to look inconspicuous.

Even though the Contractor and his partner were dead, Hizumi was sure someone would make a move on her.

A black cat wearing a red collar walked up and hopped on the bench next to him. Hizumi frowned before it began scratching its right ear.

"Madam Oreille isn't pleased with you taking on a job she didn't assign you," Mao indicated.

"It could be a lead," said Hizumi.

"Or more like a waste of our time. Or better yet, her time."

"Then she can kill me if nothing pans out."

"I hardly doubt she'd do a thing like that. She wants to see you at the rendezvous by eight tonight. If you're not there, then perhaps she might reconsider it."

Mao stopped scratching, jumped from the bench and headed off.

As on cue, the young college student, carrying a backpack, came into view. Due to the warm weather, she had slipped on tan baggy shorts, a white tank top with Cal written on it and tan flip-flops. Walking at a hastened pace, the Asian girl whipped her short purple-dyed hair from her blue eyes and headed for her next class.

Standing up slowly while grabbing his bag, Hizumi followed at a lengthy distance. However, in order to keep up, he had to slip between groups of other students or casually shove them aside. Methods like this made it easy to be noticed.

Coming up to another campus building, the girl entered it. Hizumi copied her movement, following her down the halls and into a classroom. The seats were set on an incline, half mooning the teacher's desk below.

Suzy Lu sat in the middle section while Hizumi took a seat behind her.

Within minutes, a tan man entered from a backroom to stand before everybody. From his white suite, aviator glasses and black dress shoes, he resembled Michael Jackson from _Smooth Criminal_. The difference though was from his thick, whipped blown blondish-brown hair and light brown eyes that seemed like daggers.

"Welcome, class," he began. "Sorry about Professor Biggs, he couldn't be here.

"He's out at the moment and won't be back, I fear.

"My name is Professor Victors and I'll be your substitute.

"Now girls, calm down, I know I look cute."

The class began to mutter about Victor's rhyming.

"Perhaps he's one of those Contractors and that's his obeisance," a boy chuckled to his classmate beside Lucy.

"Before we begin," continued the sub.

"Is Suzy Lu in?"

Hizumi's eyes twitch, as a dark feeling shot down his spine.

"Yes?" Suzy Lu questioned, raising her hand.

"Thank you for showing yourself, little fry.

"Now, prepare to meet your maker and die!"

The substitute's eyes burned red, as he started highlighting in blue. Hizumi grabbed the girl and yanked her backwards, as the Contractor snapped his finger and engulfed the seats in flames. The boys beside her were instantly cooked to the bones.

Pushing his way past everybody that were screaming and trying to escape, Hizumi guided the petrified and confused girl towards the exit. The Contractor glared at them and snapped his fingers again. Hizumi pulled Suzy forward, barely missing another eruption that claimed three more students.

Irritated, Hizumi opened his bag, pulled out a split blade hidden in a cut out book and threw it. The Contractor held up his right arm to have the blade stab it. He highlighted in blue and snapped his finger, but instead of trying to kill Hizumi and the girl, the exits were doused in flames. The ceiling had filled with smoke, which made it hard to breathe.

"I don't know how you knew about this or who you are.

"But that I'll find out and make sure you don't go far.

"Although, I am sure you are the reason why two of my colleagues are deceased.

"I'll just have to get some vengeance for it and cook you up into a feast."

The Contractor burned the seats around them and began slowly drawing the flames inwards. The heat grew immensely to the point where Hizumi was sweating through every pore.

"Do something!" pleaded the girl.

"Like what?" Hizumi questioned.

"Anything!"

"There's nothing either of you can do," smirked Mr. Rhymes.

"So I'll say, 'Too-da-loo.'"

Hizumi cursed from being so reckless. It was a shame he was going to die before he could singed revenge on his father.

The flames were meters from them, the girl clinging and crying on Hizumi.

"Goodbye, little fry."

Suddenly, a wire came out of nowhere to wrap around the phony teacher. Startled, he halted his ring of fire and singed the wire before an electric shock shot through it. The Contractor looked to his right where Hei stood dressed in black attire.

"Who the hell are you?" he questioned.

"Some damn fool?"

The man called Victor set Hei's coat on fire, but with quick reflexes, he removed the blazing clothing and threw it aside. The Contractor started to torch the area under the former protagonist, but missed as he jumped to safety and then rolled out of the path of a fireball. Another one was released to have Hei leap roll over it.

"For an old man, you're still mobile.

"And that's me trying to be humble.

"Such an irrational thought.

"Now it's time to kill you annoying lot!"

The Contractor began moving Hizumi and the girl's fire cage inwards, freaking out the young student. However, he was distracted as the sprinklers kicked on and showered the classroom.

"What the…?

"Son of a…

"That was just wrong.

"Turning the water system back on!

"I will kill the ignorant person.

"I turned it off so I would not have to deal with precipitation!"

"A colleague of mine had done it so I could do this," mentioned Hei, as he highlighted in blue.

The Contractor was electrocuted from the waterlogged floor and then died, still wide eyed in disbelief. The flames burnt out immediately.

"No more rhyming, I mean it!" yelled Hei at the corpse.

Displeased, Hizumi snarled at him for saving his life again.

"Eh, anybody want a peanut?" babbled the girl. Hei and Hizumi glared at her baffled. "What? It's from the Princess Bride. It may be before my time, but I love that movie."


	4. Chapter 4

DTB Gen New Season Two: The Ideal Contractor

Chapter Four: What it Seems is Not Everything

Megumi arrived at the location indicated on the phone she had confiscated hours prior. It was a two-story building that had been boarded up. A sign that read, "Watanabe Inn," was cracked down the middle with vines creeping up the staircases and moldy walls.

Exiting the maize car with the support of her cane, the crippled agent pulled out her gun using her free hand and began searching the premises. The smell was an unpleasant one. It was a mixture of crusty week old socks and rotten eggs.

Her reason for secrecy was if Hachi happened to be on site, she wanted to be the one to put a bullet between his eyes. It irked her to the core that Gardner had told her to stay in the car like a dog. If he thought doing so was going to protect her from harm, he was sadly mistaken. She didn't need it thanks to her curse.

In rooms that weren't boarded up, Megumi shined her flashlight into them, squinting to see through the stained windows but received no luck.

Cursing, Megumi headed back to her car, but stopped from footsteps behind her. Gun still in hand, she spun around while aiming it, however, before she could get a bearing, she was met with red beady eyes and a blue highlighted figure.

Xxx

Itashi Megumi woke with a start from her nightmare. Sweat was pouring down her body, dousing her gray nightshirt and blue pajamas. Her heart was racing faster than a cheetah and her lungs were frantically grasping for breath.

After a minute of anxiety, the petrified woman gathered her composure and laid down on her futon.

It had been one hectic dream she had never encountered before. The things that had swarmed in her brain had felt so real. She tried to wrap her head around it, remembering the whole thing, but it slipped through her grasp.

"Bad dream?" a guy asked beside her.

Startled, Megumi looked to her left and noticed a shirtless man who resembled a muscular Asian Harry Potter. His biceps were flexed from cuddling up with a pillow and he was somewhat sweaty from the mild heat.

She smiled, and said, "Yeah, Hizumi."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Wish I could."

"Oh, one of those. I hate that. I just wanted to know what woke up my precious jewel."

Shivers running down her back, Megumi leaned in and kissed him.

"I love you," she said.

He gave a crooked smile, and said, "I know."

Megumi gave him a peculiar look. His voice sounded a little odd, but it was probably from morning fatigue. She stood, walked over to the curtains, and opened it to have the morning sun shine through.

"Oh, wow, what a rare sight."

"What is it?"

"The moon! It has a weird oval shape to it. Probably because it's still visible in the morning."

Turning around, Megumi was smiling from ear to ear. It was as if she had first laid eyes on something marvelous. She returned to her husband, sitting on top of him and whipping her long brown hair aside so she could kiss him again.

Normally Hizumi would have had morning sex, but there was another man in Megumi's life that needed her attention. Mournfully, he pushed her at arms length and gave his wife the look.

Rolling her eyes, Megumi stood, exited their room, and entered the kitchen that was jointed to the living corridors. A black cat with a red collar entered and sat before her, whipping its tail. She picked up a small device, clicked the button, and said, "Holovision on."

"_Holovision on. Is that correct?" _a recorded woman's voice asked.

"Yes."

"_Holovision on. Continue using voice activation while cooking, cleaning, watching H.V. or other business of chores."_

The holo television turned on, as Megumi began cooking breakfast. A talk show was being broadcasted that starred the former J-rock artist Hizumi. His latest guest was from a rock band called Dark Ray.

"_There's a lot of adrenaline pumping through your veins__ performing in front of thousands of fans, isn't __there__?" _the former J-rocker asked.

"_Yes. Yes __there__ is," _nodded the lead signer.

His hair was mangled and resembled a rainbow.

Megumi began frying some rice mixed with carrots and onions. As the food sizzled, she decided to feed her cat dry food. Once done, Megumi returned to the stove.

"I just want to eat," a voice babbled.

Dumbstruck, Megumi looked down at her cat, believing he had spoke, but knew the thought was ignorant, and figured it had come from the holovision.

Moments later, her son, Li, entered the room rubbing at his blue eyes. His brown hair was a mess, but looked cute, especially in his Power Ranger pajamas.

"Good morning, Li-chan!" chimed Megumi.

"Ah, good… mornen," muttered Li. "Rice? I wan' cake!"

"Oh, no. Cake is not a healthy way to start the day."

"But daddy does."

"And I've said the same thing to him."

"That you have," replied Hizumi, walking over.

His hairless, muscular chest and six-packs seemed to gleam from the midnight sweat. The black trousers he wore hung loose, nearly revealing his package. What made her putty in his arms were his smooth collarbones.

"Would you put on a shirt!" frowned Megumi. "You make it hard for me to cook when you're like that. Especially when we miss out on our special moment."

"I know. That's why I do it. And because you don't wear only your apron around me anymore."

"I wonder why!" frowned Megumi.

"Mommy, what's yours and daddy's special moment?"

Megumi narrowed her eyes at her husband and then looked at her son, saying, "Our play time by ourselves."

"Oh. What do you play?"

"Tickling matches," chuckled Hizumi, kneeling next to Li.

"Tonight is going to be hockey night if you keep this up," said Megumi, referring to it as a slugfest, "and then you'll be sleeping on the hard floor."

After thoroughly cooking breakfast, Megumi carried the pot over to a small table, and poured it onto their bowls. She returned to her stove, turning it off before pitching the pot in the sink and joining her family.

The holovision began to go on the fritz and then a radiation-like high-pitched noise came from it. Moments later, it tuned in to reveal a news station.

"_We interrupt our local programming to bring you a special report," _said a middle-aged man. His graying black hair looked wind whipped, he had on a cheap black business suit, and seemed as though he had not shaved in days. _"It seems a man dressed in all black wearing a white mask was seen flying through Tokyo in the Shinjuku area. We go over to reporter Izumi Sakura. Sakura, can you tell us more."_

The holo screen changed to reveal a young woman. She had on a knee length tan skirt that looked too tight to run in, and a loose fitting white blouse.

"_I can, Hayate," _she began, flipping her short black hair over her right ear. _"It seemed this mask vigilantly decided to swing from one building to another, scaring multiple people. Now, somebody had caught a holo picture of the man and here it is."_

They showed it, confirming the description of the person.

"_I speculate that this man is a fanatic fan-fiction reader and is portraying a masked hero in a story from Bara no Maurice."_

"_Izumi Sakura, what did I say about theories. This news station does not put together theories. Only facts. We follow the rules of our predecessors before us."_

Dumfounded from the reporter's statement, Megumi recalled a similar memory.

"Enough of this crap," said Hizumi. "Holovision off."

"_Turing off Holovision."_

"I was watching that!" scolded Megumi

Her husband shrugged.

"I was thinking," began Megumi, "this city is packed with people. How about we look into finding a place in the suburbs. Maybe closer to Yokohama."

"Where your parents live," indicated Hizumi. "You know I don't get along with your dad. We're always arguing about politics."

"You're always arguing with him about a Gaijin Minister running things in Tokyo."

"Damn straight! That foreigner only came over here because nobody in the States voted for him."

Megumi chuckled, and said, "At least my mom likes you."

"Because I remind her of a crush she had had on a foreign exchange student from China who got shipped back. She find out what had happened to him?"

"Failed a bunch of his classes, dropped out and became a hobo. After that, I don't know."

"At least he's not like my parents. My old man lying around the house while my mom cooks food that tastes like dog food."

Megumi eyed him devilishly as he smiled.

"Daddy, that true?" Li asked.

"He's kidding!" informed Megumi. "His parents died in a car crash!"

Her right eye twitched again, experiencing another Déjà vu. She shook it off and continued eating.

Once they were done, Megumi packed her son's lunch and sent him off to school. She entered the shower to wash off the night stench, but as she did, the same high-pitched sound echoed around the enclosed room, making Megumi think something was up with the pipes.

However, her thoughts were distracted from Hizumi slipping in to have their special moment. Megumi smiled, noticing she had left an impression down under on him.

"I have to be at work in an hour!" she informed.

"All I need is a minute," he said, his voice sounding odd again. Megumi gave him a puzzling look from his comment. "Wait that came out wrong."

Shaking her head, she wrapped her arms around his neck, as he placed her on his hips and they made love.

In her blue car as it headed towards her work, Megumi sat back in her seat singing to a _Florence + The Machine_ song called _No Light, No light._ It was an older song that came out almost a year after she was born, but since her father had played it continuously, she had grown to love it.

Her car drove into the TCS Headquarters and pulled into an empty lot. After turning it off, Megumi exited the vehicle, walked over to enter the minuscule building and headed down a long corridor to step into a darkened room that was illuminated by a dozen lights.

"You're late, Megumi!" yelled Kanami, as she approached her.

"Sorry, but I got a little distracted in the shower… with Hizumi," blushed Megumi.

Kanami opened her mouth to continue her lecture, but stopped while winking, and said, "I guess I could let you off this time. How was it?"

Blushing more, Megumi was about to give the naughty details, but she couldn't remember anything. It was as if she had read Fifty Shades of Grey but skipped the sex scenes.

"Well?" spoke up Kanami.

"Eh, it was… fine…"

"Fine? Fine? Are you two having problems in the bedroom? If you are, I could buy or let you borrow some of my, '_Toys._'"

"Err, we're fine, Kanami-san."

Kanami sighed. "So, are you still going to pay me for that dress you tore on a bench?"

Megumi looked at her startled, recalling another memory. What was going on with her today? The same high pitch echoed throughout the office. Baffled, the young mother glanced at the screens to see if something from it was causing an ear-screeching noise.

"Boy, you said it, girly!" spoke up a woman. Kanami and Megumi looked to their right and saw Emiko talking to Chou. However, it sounded like Emiko had said, "Chewy." She gestured over her shoulder while glaring at Kanami. "Where did you dig up that old fossil?"

The pitch sound began to die off. As it did, Megumi looked past Emiko and saw an old man wearing big glasses sweeping the floor. Something about him was familiar, but what was it?

Suddenly, her brain began to ache and she snatched at it while cringing.

"Megumi, are you all right?" Kanami asked.

Within seconds, the pain subsided.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured.

"You didn't look so good," pointed out Kanami. "If it's bad, you can go home."

"No, I'm fine."

Straightening out her posture, Megumi glanced over at the old man, but he was gone. Kanami followed her stare, and asked, "Something wrong."

"No. I just thought I recognized that old man Emiko was talking about, so I wanted to get a better look at him."

"What old man?" Emiko asked. Megumi glared at her peculiarly and repeated her words about the old fossil. "I never had said that. I've had my eyes on the holo screen for the past twenty minutes until you collapsed."

"But, you just had said it like twenty seconds ago."

"Megumi-chan," spoke up Kanami, guiding her away from Emiko. "Maybe you should go home. Or perhaps go see your doctor."

"I'm fine, Kanami-san. Really."

Megumi walked past Kanami and sat at her desk across from her new co-worker, Fukazawa. He blushed and shyly stuck his nose back into his work. Shaking her head, she began working on her holo computer.

The hours seemed to fly by, as though an hour was a mere second. Before she knew it, it was almost time to go home. Megumi couldn't recall what she had had for lunch, or even if she had taken one.

However, before she was done, Megumi's phone rang. She pressed the answer button, noticing it was on speakerphone, and picked up the receiver.

"This is Itashi Megumi, how can I help you?" she said into it.

Unexpectedly, the high-pitched sound rang ten times louder than the last, and it felt as though it was in the depths of her brain. Clamping her eyes shut, she quickly pulled the phone away.

A vision of a glowing blue man appeared, staring down at her with bloodstained like eyes. Narrowing her eyes, she tried to make sense of it. Who was this man? Was he even a man, or a being of some kind?

"She's waking!" yelled a man off to her left.

"Great Scott. This is heavy!" replied the glowing man.

"Quick, put her back under!"

"One-point twenty-one gigawatts!"

Within seconds, the blue man evaporated and her workstation reappeared.

"What's a gigawatt!" babbled Megumi.

Shaking her head, she wondered what had happened? Had she dozed off and had a quick dream? Furthermore, what was that high pitch noise?

Looking at her phone, she noticed it was still on its slot. Something wasn't right.

"Megumi, you all right?"

Dumbfounded, she spun around to stare into her husband's eyes. They were in their apartment late at night. He was standing in the bedroom's doorway dressed in his bartender outfit.

"How…?" She began looking around, baffled. "What…? How did I get here?"

"You walked through the front door," mentioned Hizumi, his eyelids slanted.

"When?"

"Three hours ago after picking up Li from school. Honey, is something wrong?"

Megumi began to open her mouth, to mention that she had lost a whole day, but it felt as though the saliva on her lips had become so thick and sticky that it prevented her from uttering anything.

The high-pitched sound returned. Cringing, Megumi pinched the bridge of her nose.

"What is that sound?" she cried

"What sound?" questioned Hizumi.

"You don't hear it? She yelled, glaring at him. "How?"

"The only guess I have is that maybe your mind doesn't work the same way the rest of theirs do," he said, altering his voice.

Megumi narrowed her eyes at her husband for quoting a line from her favorite Novel book, Twilight. To be blunt, there had been quotes all day, even during her three-second catnap at work.

Finally, the pitch sound subsided.

"Perhaps a nice dinner will ease your mind, Megumi-chan," said her dad.

She turned on her heels and saw her mother, father, son and husband kneeling before the small table.

"Mom, Dad? What are you two doing here?" she asked, oblivious about her husband's teleportation trick.

"Family dinner, of course," said her mother.

"But we have that on Sundays."

"Isn't it Sunday?"

"Can't be! Hizumi had just said I had picked up Li-chan from school. He doesn't have school on Sundays."

"I don't go to school yet, OneMegi!" said Li, while eating pocky.

Megumi stared at Li, baffled. OneMegi? The word seemed to have an emotional effect to her, not as a mother, but as an older sister.

The high-pitch sounded in her head, making her clamp her ears in hope of extinguishing the noise. Her family looked at her concerned.

"Megumi…?" questioned her mother.

"You don't hear that? It's clear as day!" Megumi hollered over the pitch sound.

"Like your thoughts are on the AM frequency and I'm only getting FM," said her father, but it wasn't his own voice.

"Would you stop doing that?"

"You've got a bit of a temper, don't you?"

With her head pounding, and irritated from her family acting a scene from Twilight, she barged out of her apartment and found herself running across a darken street vacated of cars, but was cluttered with headlights and horns.

She wished the ringing would stop so she could think.

In the distance, the confused woman recognized an old man in a green coat wearing big glasses. He was the same old man from work.

Bursting out of her maize car, she headed after him, yelling, "Hey, wait!" while hopping over something. "Please! Wait! How did you vanish?" People came to a sudden halt as she ran pass them. "Wait! I'm not going to hurt you!"

She caught up to make him turn around and look back at her.

"Yes?" he smiled.

"Where…? Who are you?" she asked. "You seem so familiar? Like we've met before."

He placed his hands on her shoulder, and said, "Miss, I think it's time for you to wake up."

She looked at him baffled. His smile disappeared, as his body began to outline in blue and his glasses beamed red. She gasped, as she found her body shaking from an electrical current coursing through her body.

Within a split second, Megumi woke and sat up before the highlighted man in a run down room. He wore a flat cap tilted sideways, heavy brown coat that ghostly outlined in blue, and black jeans with matching shoes. Next to him was a pale-skinned man pimped out in nineteen fifty-style clothing with a feathered-brim hat.

Pain was seeping through her back, as if she had been injured from something.

"Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!" shouted the glowing man.

"I can see that!" yelled the brim hat man. "Get her back under!"

"AAASSS… YYYOOOUUU… WWWIIISSSHHH…!"

As though her mind had gone blank, Megumi found herself waking up next to Hizumi. It all made sense. This was the dream world and some glowing man who was making the high-pitched sound had locked her in her own mind. She had to escape, but how?

The old man in green perhaps had the answer, but where would she find him.

On her stand, the holovision's screen began to waver, clicked, and then turned on.

"_We interrupted our local programming to bring you a special report," _said Hayate. _"It seems a man dressed in all black wearing a white mask was seen flying through Tokyo in the Shinjuku area. We go over to reporter Izumi Sakura. Sakura, can you tell us more."_

Megumi glared at it, believing it was the same program from yesterday, as the woman reported the situation. She had to find the man in black.

Perhaps she might be able to conjure up the vigilantly and old man if this was a dream.

"It won't work that way," said her husband, who was standing in the doorway half naked. "He controls it."

Megumi narrowed her eyes.

"Who are you? Are we really married?" she asked.

"What you want me to be, or at least in your deepest and darkest dreams. You wanted me like this, so here I am. He created this life for you."

"Why?"

Hizumi walked over and sat next to her, staring into her brown eyes, and said, "Does it matter? Your dreams have come true."

"But it's not real! For all I know, you could be dead and I want you back. If this is how, then I don't want it. Not like this."

"Maybe you do?"

"I changed my mind. Let me out!"

"It doesn't work that way." Megumi found herself in a straitjacket and white ten-by-ten room. Hizumi stood, dressed in ordinary outfit, and glared down at her. "When you've learned to accept this world, he will let you go."

Hizumi exited with the door closing behind him. Tightening her jaw line, Megumi snorted at the door. There had to be a way to escape this nightmare.

Closing her eyes, she forced to imagine being free from the straitjacket, but when she opened them, Megumi was still in her binds. Saying a word that wasn't proper for a PG movie, she tried again with no luck. Perhaps it would be best to give in and live out her life in this fantasy world.

"That is not you," said a voice behind her.

Turning around, she gasped at the sight of the old man.

"How…?" she began to say, but stopped.

"You are not a quitter, but yet, you're trying too hard. You're strong-minded. It will set you free."

Megumi looked at him curiously, but then realized she wasn't in a straitjacket anymore. In addition, the door was open. She looked back at the old man to ask how he had done that, but he had disappeared.

Not wishing to push her luck anymore, Megumi bolted from her confinement to step into a blustery Tokyo. However, it was different than what she had remembered. It looked as though the place had been uninhabited for decades. Mold, vines and weeds infested the city. Cracks branched out throughout the roads and the buildings had grimy or busted out windows. The night sky itself was amiss. It was purple in color, the stars arranged incorrectly, and the moon was absent.

To Megumi, it was wrong, but felt right.

Movement to her left caught her attention. Turning towards it, Megumi spotted the masked, dark-clothed man running into a building. She followed suite. Stepping through, Megumi watched the dark figure enter an emergency exit in which she repeated his actions. Once inside, she looked upwards to gaze upon what seemed like a never-ending staircase. A few floors up stood the masked man staring down at her.

Her eyes focused on the slanted dark eyes, believing they had glowing red pupils, and then he continued ascending. Megumi began her incline, however, to her it felt as though she was running on a backwards escalator. She tried running faster, but it seemed like her feet sank into the concrete to where she could not get any footing.

Her prey was getting away. She knew if she could catch up and unmask him, this nightmarish dream would end.

"Wait! Please! PLEASE!" screamed the frantic woman.

Without realizing it, Megumi burst through a door to find herself on a rooftop. Before her stood Hizumi, his white shirt, blue pants and black hair being blown around by the gusty wind with his arms crossed.

"You continue to persist on playing these games," he said. Hizumi dropped his arms and walked towards her, the gravel roof crackling under his black shoes. "You can't win against him. If he has to, he will put you into a deep coma where everything is blank. Give up, Megumi." Her beloved stepped before her and cradled her face. "Come back home to me and Li-chan."

"No!" Megumi pushed away. "It's not real."

"You have no idea what is out there in the real world. In fact, you're already gazing on part of it. You have everything you need with me." He held out his right hand. "We can be happy together."

Megumi looked at it, thinking of forgetting about the real world, but a knife was suddenly shoved through his chest. It was yanked out, having him drop to his knees before dying. Behind him stood her mystery man holding a bloody knife, his coat whipping in the wind.

With tropical storm-like speed, the masked man kneed her stomach, surprising and having her cough in pain, and then was elbowed in the back.

As she tried to stand, her legs became wobbly, as though a thousand pounds had been placed on her shoulder. The pain in her back was beyond tolerant. If she had to put it from one to ten, it felt like a sixty. Confusion was overwhelming her. Was her puppeteer doing this or was it her own mind?

Unable to burden the pain, Megumi dropped to her knees. The man in black took a hold of his mask and removed it. She gazed at the face, knowing the person before her wasn't her masked man, but another man. He had long silky hair, a sharp face, and a stare filled with hatred.

"Ha…chi…" she rolled off her tongue. "Suzuki, Hachi…"

Anger she had never experienced filled every pore in her body. Pointing a gun at Hachi that had materialized in her hand, she fired a shot to have him evaporate into a swirl of dust that blew off into the wind.

Megumi looked down, slightly astounded at her husband to see he was wearing the mask and black outfit.

Unable to take it, Megumi placed the gun to her temple. There was an urging feeling that swarmed throughout her body, as though instructing her to do it, but some other unknown notion kept her from doing so.

"_Do it already!" _the brim hat man said in her head. _"Kill her!"_

"_I'm giving her all I got, Captain,"_ said the glowing man's voice. _"I don't have the power." _

Tears began to run down her cheek, wishing all of it would end.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm, spun her around, and kissed her. The person pulled away to reveal an average Japanese man in a black coat and blue jeans. She knew this man.

"Shoji?" Megumi mumbled.

"Strike one," he said, and then pushed her over the ledge.

The street seemed miles upon miles below, as though the buildings had created a square-like tunnel. She began to scream out her lungs, but could not hear it. The fall felt light-headed, but heavy as she flapped her arms. However, everything faded away, and then she woke up again, noticing she was sitting upright with a gun to her temple like in her dream.

"Inconceivable!" babbled the glowing man.

"Damn it!" yelled the pale-skinned man.

He pulled out a gun from his overcoat and began pointing it at Megumi. Like riding a bike, she instinctually aimed her gun at the paled man and fired a shot in his heart, killing him. Megumi then trained it back to the glowing man, which forced him to throw up his hands.

"Parley! Parrrrley!" he yelled.

"Who are you?" Megumi asked.

"No one of consequence," he replied, having Megumi slant her eyelids. Why was he quoting movie lines? "Get use to disappointments."

Due to her distraction, he swatted the gun away. Megumi looked on dumbstruck, but shook it off after spotting a two-by-four. Grabbing it, she swung it, striking the glowing man in the shoulder.

"That didn't hurt!" Anger soaring through her veins, she struck him two more times around the waist. "That didn't hurt! That didn't hurt." Peeved off now, Megumi struck him across the face. He performed a one-eighty and fell face forward while muttering, "That hurt!"

"Don't move, dirt bag!" babbled Megumi, remembering the 1980 comedy movie, Police Academy.

She stood from the bed, as the glow the man produced faded. As on cue, the floodgates opened to have all her memories return. Overwhelmed with so much drama, she dropped to her knees and erupted into tears.

Hizumi from her dreams was right. If she had remembered this world, she would not have returned.

Xxx

While Agents Gardner, Smith and Bishop escorted the Contractor out of the motel blindfolded, Megumi sat on the bumper of an ambulance being checked out by a paramedic. He was younger than her, had a peachy face, and his dark hair was parted to the side. Also, he looked to be averagely built.

"You'll never take me alive, coppa!" babbled the Contractor.

After regaining control of her own memory, she was able to determine him saying movie quotes was his obeisance.

"Shut up!" replied Gardner, throwing him in the back of a cop car.

"145 over 85. You're hypertensive," said the paramedic after taking her blood pressure.

"I wonder why," she sarcastically commented, as he swiped a device across her forehead.

"Your temperature is normal. Look straight without blinking for me." He shined his light into her eyes. "Your pupils look fine. I suggest you head to a local hospital to get checked out thoroughly."

"I'll be fine."

The paramedic packed up his stuff and departed. Moments later, Gardner approached.

"You shouldn't have come on your own," he said.

"Why does it matter? We both know I can't die. Not at least for another eleven years."

"But that's no excuse to go running off into danger."

"Then fire me."

Megumi stood and headed towards her car. Gardner frowned at her.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: The first dialect is for Tsuki llama

DTB Gen New Season Two: The Ideal Contractor

**Chapter Five: Motionless, Lifeless and Unable to Bare a Soul**

After receiving information concerning illegal Doll trafficking in Tokyo, Megumi and Olivia road towards a warehouse. It was late with a clear view of the fake stars above. Lights glimmered off the maized-car's windshield.

"Your car looks like an Oscar-Meyer Wiener car!" said Olivia, bluntly.

The handicap woman glared at her displeased, knowing she was talking about the dark yellow color.

"Why is it Gardner partnered us up?" she questioned.

"So I could keep an eye on you," countered Olivia.

"And that means sitting on the sidelines too."

Olivia glanced at her, and said, "I'm fine with it. It gives me a reason to put a bullet in your leg if you refuse to listen." The blonde-haired women averted her eyes. "Besides, agent Gardner and agent Smith should be fine."

The car pulled before a rundown building sandwiched between a ramen and sushi restaurant. Its front entrance was rusted along the base and the depleted garage door was hanging off its tracks.

Seconds later, a red boxy car approached from behind, halting before the warehouse. Without realizing it, Olivia threw her cuffs on Megumi's wrist and linked it to the steering wheel.

"Hey! What the…?" babbled Megumi.

"So you stay put," pointed out Olivia.

She exited the car and met up with Gardner and Smith. Megumi frowned while giving them the bird. Ignoring it, the agents removed their weapons and stormed through the rusted door.

Megumi yanked her wrist continuously, hoping to snap the cuff, but had no luck.

"A holes!" she cursed in English. Reaching into her pocket, Megumi pulled out a couple of pins and began picking the lock. Within seconds, she had it undone. "A HOLES!"

Grabbing her cane, Megumi exited her car and entered the warehouse. It had enough room for a semi, making her wonder where Dolls were stored. Not to mention, her so-called colleagues were nowhere in sight.

She located a staircase along the right corner wall. To her luck, the place lacked an elevator. Sighing, Megumi painfully descended into a vacant basement minus a few crates. Above she noticed a hydraulics system that allowed smugglers to lower the platform and store Dolls from unwanted eyes.

In the midst were two men standing before a crate. Perhaps they were her colleagues, but she drew her gun for insurance. Megumi painfully squatted behind an empty crate and peeked around it. One of them was wearing a dried out black leather coat, outdated skinny jeans, and his brown hair was parted to the side.

The other guy was Asian dressed in an unappealing tan business suit and matching bulky shoes.

They were not her colleagues.

Figuring it would make noise; she carefully placed her cane against the crate and dragged her mangled foot, as she cautiously approached while skinny jeans man cut off the lock. Coming up to her preys, she raised her gun and clicked off the safety.

"Don't move!" Megumi ordered. The men jumped. "Hands up!"

"Megumi?" skinny jeans man asked.

Recognizing the voice, she yelled, "Turn around! Slowly!"

They did so, freaking her out.

"Shoji?" she whimpered, staring into his dark eyes. "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Fukazawa and I are following a lead!" replied Shoji, pointing at his plump face partner. Feeling squeamish, Fukazawa began parting his dark hair. "What about you?"

"Same thing." She lowered her gun.

"Looks… looks like… we're too late," said Fukazawa, gathering his composure. "All is left is this crate."

Agent Itashi put her gun away and limped towards the crate. Shoji began to help, but Megumi held out her hand.

"I'm fine," she stated.

"Err, alright," he hastened to say. "Err, sorry for what had happened to you. Sakura had told me." Megumi started hoisting the lid, finding it heavy. "Here, let me help you with that."

"I… got… it…!"

"The hell you do!"

Shoji lifted it, unveiling an Asian boy who had tangled dark hair and wore a loincloth. His eyes opened to reveal blue eyes, startling Megumi.

"No, it can't be? They didn't!" she babbled, backing away.

"Megumi?" Shoji glanced back at her.

The boy sat up, gazed at Megumi, and said, "OneMegi."

"No…! No…! No…!"

Megumi grabbed her cane and scaled the stairs. Shoji watched her, as Fukazawa looked back at the Doll, wondering why she had freaked out.

Xxx

"I hate this place!" yelled Suzy Lu at Hizumi, standing in a living room of a two-story home.

To the left was the front door before the kitchen and staircase. Hei lay on a couch in front of a stained twenty-inch HDTV. Tan curtains covered the window.

"You have no WiFi, no Internet connection, no holo computer! You suck!" she continued.

"You're safe here," informed Hizumi.

"More like bored. And you owe me four hundred dollars for my iHolo 6GS my daddy bought me. How dare you give it to a homeless man!"

"They can track it. That's the last thing we want."

Yelling the F-bomb, she ascended the staircase to enter her room and slammed the door shut.

"Just cut her loose already," stated Hei.

Snorting, Hizumi rounded the couch, glared down at his father, and said, "They'll keep coming after her."

"She's not our responsibility. We're not getting compensated for baby sitting her."

"Actually, Madam O. is making it your guys' responsibility," said Mao, sitting at the top of the staircases.

"How'd you get inside?" questioned Hizumi, staring up at him displeased.

"Somebody left one of the windows cracked open," he smirked. "I was able to squeeze through it."

"Careless, as always," scolded Hei.

"Which room?" Hizumi questioned.

Mao's smirk grew, and said, "The girl's room."

Xxx

Suzy Lu flopped onto her bed, feeling claustrophobic in a minuscule room that scarcely fit a dresser. A tree was visible through a smudged-glass window.

Social media was her life and not knowing what was going on every second was killing her. It had been two days since she had last posted a message on 4evr Gram, Fishy Out a holo picture, and gossiped something on MyFace.

She thought about escaping through the window, but her prisoners had pad locked it. There was sneaking out the front door at night, but the old man was always awake.

Thinking about it, they were not terrible men. Hizumi was pleasant to be around, and cute. However, even though he seemed amiable, the old geezer gave her the creeps. At times, it seemed as though he was going to kill her, but then gave her second portions of food.

Speaking of it, the old man was a bottomless pit. It had to be his obeisance.

A slight breeze ruffled Suzy's hair, startling her and realized the window was cracked open.

Chiming with excitement, the college girl flung it open and cautiously clambered onto the tree. She was about to climb down, but a black cat scrambled up it and stood before her.

"Shoo, move it," whispered Suzy, gesturing for it to scat and shaking the branch. To her dismay, the cat growled. "Move, damn it!"

Irritated, she frantically waved her arms and swayed the branch like a ship on rugged seas. The cat's fur stood on edge, as its claws dug into the bark and hissed. Like clockwork, the branch snapped.

"You idiot!" yelled somebody, as she fell and landed on her back.

Suzy slowly stood and looked around to see who had spoken, but nobody was present. Feeling like a million bucks, she ran from her captors. The first thing she was going to do was check her Fishy feed.

Resembling a pancake, Mao had stars circling his head.

"The things… I get… myself… into."

Xxx

The next day, Megumi and Shoji had been called into Gardner's office.

He glared up at them, tapping his finger on his table, and said, "I'm impressed, agent Megumi, but also displeased. You disobeyed a direct order for the second time and put your life in danger."

Jaw line tightening, she forced herself from yelling she was immune to death in front of Shoji. As far as he knew, it had been extinguished.

"Now, about that Doll," continued Gardner. "The Tokyo and American government have agreed to send it to America and have it reprogrammed.

"However, no doubt the organization who had coughed up a lot of dough to create it wants it back. As soon as it departs this agency, it will be attacked." Gardner looked at Shoji. "I talked to your commander and he agrees that you and agent Fukazawa should be involved with the transportation with agent Bishop and agent Smith."

"I want Megumi instead of this agent Smith guy," said Shoji.

Gardner's eyelid rose, as Megumi glared at him displeased.

"No way. Agent Itashi isn't fit for fieldwork. She stays here," he replied.

"Then I quit, and that includes the Foreign Affairs," challenged Shoji.

Narrowing his eyes, Gardner responded, "You think I need you?"

"Yes," nodded Shoji. "Fukazawa and Sakura aren't as well trained as me, and you can't spare any other agents."

Megumi's eyelid rose, wondering when Shoji had learned how to bluff.

"Your funeral, Section Chief," babbled Gardner.

Averting her attention towards her boss, Megumi yelled, "What? You're not serious, are you?"

"Yes I am."

"Then I quit!"

Turning on her cane, Megumi exited the office and headed towards the elevator. Before reaching it, Shoji stepped in front of her.

"Out of my way!" she demanded.

"Or what? You'll knee me in the groins?" Shoji mocked. "I doubt it since your legs are all messed up."

Before he knew it, her cane had shot up between his legs and he huffed out in pain.

"That's what this is for!" pointed out Megumi.

"What is your problem?" Shoji squeaked. "Why are you running from this case?"

Her brown eyes were burning with frustration.

"That's none of your concern!" she informed. "Now get out of my way!"

"Tell me why first," he stated, regaining his vocals. "Is it because of the boy, or me?"

Megumi opened her mouth to respond, but held back for a second, and then said, "The boy!"

"Why?" he asked. "What did he mean by OneMegi? What did you mean when you said they didn't?" Megumi peeled her eyes from his. After thinking for a second, it hit him like a ton of bricks. "Oh, I get it. OneMegi is Onesan-Megumi. He's your baby brother."

"He's not my brother!" she corrected, jabbing her index finger into his chest. "My brother died fifteen years ago because of my curse! That is nothing but a soulless… _thing!_"

Wishing to end the twenty questions, Megumi struck him in the groin again and stepped onto the elevator. Shoji looked over his shoulders and stared at his former partner in anguish, as the doors closed.

Xxx

Dressed in a dark schoolboy outfit, the Doll climbed into a lime green minivan and buckled his seatbelt. Shoji and Fukazawa stepped in and settled next to him, as agent Smith took the wheel and Olivia fastened into the passenger seat.

"Narita Airport!" announced Smith.

"_Narita Airport," _confirmed the GPS.

The van pulled out of the CIA garage and made its way onto the tollway, departing the city.

"I hardly make it out here," muttered Shoji, staring out the side window.

Olivia looked back at him, and said, "What's with your former colleague? Is she always a hot head and have to do things on her own?"

"No. Although she has been pushing her friends away. I had no idea she had been put in a coma until two weeks later. She had called Sakura a few days ago, but the last time they had talked was a year after she had left Tokyo a second time."

"Why?"

Shoji mentioned Hizumi.

"Wait! A love crush for young Shinigami?" contemplated Olivia. "And she left because of that?"

"Sometimes I think there's more to it than that," specified Shoji.

"OneMegi nice," spoke the Doll. "Bought candy a lot."

"OneMegi?" mumbled Olivia.

"He's talking about Megumi," informed Shoji, filling in the blanks.

"She's got issues." Blondie looked at the boy. "And what do they call you?"

"Sheng Huo," said the Doll. "But… OneMegi call me… Li… chan."

"What do you prefer?" Shoji asked, baffling Olivia.

As if thinking about it for a second, the boy said, "Sheng Huo, is my name."

"Alright," smirked Shoji, "let's try this. How do you feel when being called Sheng Huo to Li-chan, and what would you rather be called."

"Detective Kiski. He's… a… Doll…" Olivia phrased. "He's not programmed to feel."

"After working in the Foreign Affairs," Shoji gazed at her, "you see things. Just bare with me." He looked back at the Doll. "Sheng Huo?"

The boy was silent, as he thought.

"Li… chan, nothing. Until seeing OneMegi. Cold. Down my arm, leg. But, a good way."

Shoji smiled, as Olivia's right eyelid rose.

"That's called having goose bumps," he said. "You're thrilled with excitement to see her."

"Goose… bumps?" the boy inquired.

"We have a problem!" spoke up Smith. "I think we have a tail. Two cars behind. The red one. I think he's disconnected the TCS and is trying to keep up with traffic, but doing a poor job at it."

Olivia looked into the side mirror and located a red retro-aerodynamic vehicle that was out of synch. The TCS had a standard of ten feet apart from each vehicle for effortless merging. It never exceeded the limit unless another vehicle moved over and occupied the space. However, TCS would compensate it within seconds.

"What now?" Olivia asked. "If we stop, no doubt we'll have a gun fight, and I don't think we could lose them in this vehicle."

"We're just gonna have to try," informed Smith, and turned off the TCS.

"_Warning! TCS controls have been disconnected," _said a female voice. _"Proceed with caution. Warning! Exceed__ing recommended__ speed __limit for manual operation__. Proceed with caution."_

Smith pressed the gas lever, raising the mini van's momentum and unsteadying it.

"_Warning! Exceeding regulated tollway speed limit! Please reduce acceleration immediately!" _the vehicle inquired.

The dark-skinned agent swerved into the right lane, passed a car, and shifted back into the middle lane. Knowing they had been made, Smith's pursuers repeated his movements and worked their way around traffic to ride up onto his bumper.

Suddenly, somebody in the back seat highlighted blue, and before Shoji could say the infamous four-letter swear word, the road in front of them exploded. The van resembled an airplane on take-off and landed on its side to skid a few yards.

Toll way vehicles were brought to a sudden stop.

"_Commuters, we are having some difficulty. Please stay in your cars until instructed otherwise,"_ a voice echoed throughout the airway.

Cringing in pain, Olivia looked right to see Smith was all right. She glanced back at the Foreign Affair detective, as they ushered Sheng Huo through the back's shattered window.

Once Smith was unbuckled, Olivia released herself, clambered out and took cover behind the mangled van. Four men exited the red vehicle and fired.

"We're sitting ducks!" yelled Shoji, shooting back. "Any minute we could get blown up again!"

As on cue, the ground below them turned bright blue.

"RUN!" shouted Smith.

Battered and bruised, the team dashed for cover, and as they were ten feet away, the van exploded. The shock wave flung them forward while their bodies felt enormous heat. Within seconds, the van plummeted onto another vehicle, killing the family inside.

Olivia and Fukazawa took cover behind a purple car and gestured a man and his ten-year-old daughter to exit it.

"Stay down!" instructed Fukazawa.

"Daddy, I'm scared," cried the girl, having him embrace her.

Nearby, Shoji and Smith hid behind the dead family's car. The four officers returned fire, as they waited for the next explosion.

Something behind them caught their attention. Knowing it should be clear due to traffic back up, they looked over their shoulders and saw a maize car hightailing it towards them. At the last second, it drifted to a stop and flung open its passenger door.

"Get in!" yelled Megumi. Shoji grabbed the boy, throwing him in the back and settled in the passenger seat. "Guys!"

"There's no room for all of us!" pointed out Smith. "Go! Besides, they want the Doll!"

Cursing, Megumi pressed the lever and took off, as the door slammed shut. Moments later, the red car was in pursuit.

Like clock work, the road in front of them turned blue. Megumi veered right, missing it by inches, as her car rattled. Another appeared, forcing her to divert into the left lane before it erupted, and back in the right lane as a third exploded.

These road bombs were being a pain, but it made things easier since there was no traffic for kilometers. However, that wasn't going to last.

"Can you get a baring on them?" Megumi asked.

"Not with all this swerving and swaying crap," responded Shoji.

"Then straight as an arrow it is," she huffed.

"We'll be sitting ducks!"

Megumi cringed, knowing the outcome, and said, "Then you better make it count!"

Grinding his teeth, Shoji slid onto the windowsill, aimed at the Contractor sitting in the passenger seat, and as he fired, another blue light appeared. In a split second, Megumi managed to yank Shoji back inside before the explosion. The car barrel-rolled ten yards and landed on its roof.

Ringing filled Megumi's ears, as blood poured into her eyes. Wiping at it, she noticed a bloody Shoji lying unconscious beside her.

"No, Shoji," her heart ached. "Shoji! NO!"

Megumi unbuckled and landed on her shoulder, as glass shards embedded in her. She checked for a pulse and let out a breath of relief after finding one. Before she could regain her composure, somebody grabbed Megumi's leg and yanked her through the window.

"Nice shot!" complemented a rugged looking man.

A butcher knife-sized piece of glass had impaled his shoulder, blood was trickling down his narrow forehead, and his knees were gashed. Anger sorrowing through his veins, the man kicked Megumi in her stomach.

"Killed my Contractor!" he continued his assault between sentences. "Made him summon a second blast… got me caught in it to flip my car… and killed my partners. Not only that… it ruined my thousand dollar silk shirt and pants I had just bought today…"

The rugged man pulled out a nine millimeter and pointed it at Megumi.

Coughing from the pain, Megumi spotted her gun a few yards away, and began crawling towards it on broken glass.

"Oh, okay, I'll play along before I kill you," he complemented. "Not like I have anything else going on!" To Megumi, it seemed as though her weapon was thousands of miles away and every inch felt like a kilometer. Sick of waiting, the rugged man kicked her again. "Like that!" He released his anger once more. "How about that!"

After a pain-staking journey, Megumi was meters from her gun. She desperately stretched for it, but she was a fingertip away. Scooting slightly more, the bruised agent took her gun, however, before she could take aim, Sheng Huo stepped in front and took a round in his chest.

"NO!" Megumi screamed.

Rage engulfed her very core and used it to unload her clip. The rugged man looked on dumbstruck, coughed up blood and took his eternal slumber.

Breathing heavily, Megumi dropped her gun and scrambled over to the boy. He was still alive. She cradled him while pulling out her phone to call 119.

"_What's your emergency?" _a holo gram woman asked.

"This is agent Itashi Megumi of the CIA. Send multiple ambulances to my location on the tollway. And hurry!"

"_Understood."_

Throwing down her phone, she looked into his blue eyes.

"Stay with me," pleaded Megumi. "Help is on the way."

The boy raised his hand to her cheek.

"O… One…Megi… Li… Li-chan… loved… you…"

Eyes diminishing, the last of the boy's breath escaped his lungs, as his hand laid by his side.

"No, don't leave me, please," implored Megumi, as she fought back her tears. "Please, don't leave me. Don't leave me again. Li-chan." Megumi embraced him against her chest. "Li-chan!"

Unable to hold it back, she howled in agony, as she had done when her baby brother had first died. Tears poured down her cheeks, drenching hers and Sheng Huo's shirt. Every breath she took felt as if a thousand searing needles were piercing her lungs.

Xxx

In the suburbs of Berkley California, Suzy stepped from a bus and hurried towards a blue, two-story house. It was narrow in structure, had yellow molding around the door and featured a bay window.

She burst into her home and shut the door behind her. To her left, her father jumped from his rocking chair and dropped a liquor bottle from shock.

"Suzy!" he muttered while running over to embrace her. His plaid shirt and kaki pants reeked of alcohol. "Y're alive! I heard 'bout the fire at y'r school 'n I'f b'n tryen t' call you. I hafen' b'n able to eat or sleep!"

Suzy pushed away from him and gazed into his weary brown eyes.

"Papa, it isn't true, is it?" she asked. "You haven't been working with one of those non-contract agencies?"

Eyes widened, her father ran his hand through his gray hair, and said, "Honey, what I'f done, 'm not proud 'f."

"You have!" yelled Suzy. "How could you do such a thing?"

"For you! For y'r college tuition! Y' know how much it cost for one class?"

"My… tuition…? What about my scholarship?" His eyes averted from hers. "Papa? What happened to it?"

He looked back, and said, "It, it was refoke, before you starte' semester. I talk t' the school board, 'n they say th're been a mistake."

"Revoked? What kind of mistake?"

"They wo'ldn' say. Nex' day, s'me guy offer me one thous'n buck for each weapon I sell him. I write off good weap'nz that don' work and gif it t' them.

"But, wha's import'nt iz that y're safe. You escape. Tha'z good."

"I didn't. Not on my own."

Suzy told him everything.

"Kay, but it'z not safe here," he said, placing his hands on her shoulder. "We haf to run."

"Run?" questioned Suzy, shaking her head. "I'm not running! What about my career? My friends?"

"You haf to forget 'bout them."

"No," she knocked away his hands, "I won't! This is your mess. You run!"

"Suzy! Don' be stubb'rn. Theze people will kill us!"

She glared at him, and said, "I hate you! You ruined my life! I'm glad mom isn't alive to see what you have done."

Suzy stormed out of the house. Frightened, her father chased her down the street.

"Honey, pleaze, wait," he begged.

"I'll take care of myself," Suzy informed.

Suddenly, a tall, dark complexion man stepped from behind a car, grabbed the girl and pressed a gun into her side. Startled, she stomped on his black boots and elbowed his gut, but he held her firmly against his red silk shirt.

A buzz-cut brown-haired man doused in black and barefooted, also appeared. Under the streetlights, his blue eyes seemed to sparkle, and he looked pale in skin.

"Long time, Jack," said the tall man, whipping back his slick black hair.

"Let my daugh'r go!" pleaded Suzy's father. "She haz nothing to do with thiz."

"I beg to differ. We're the ones paying for her education, right? So she's also included in this little transaction. This can be all resolved though. Give us our guns and she and the money is all yours."

"I can't! I was put on suspension. One of the guns I gave you ended up in the polices' hands and now they're doing a full investigation on me."

"Well then, we have a problem," frowned the tall man.

His partner highlighted in blue and squatted to place his right hand on the sidewalk. A spike shot upwards, piercing Jack's body from bottom to top, and resembling a bloody water fountain.

"PAPA!" cried Suzy.

"You're next, girly" assured the tall man. "But first, tell us where your saviors are hiding so we can kill them for killing our partner."

"Don't worry, you don't have far to look," said a voice. The tall man, his partner and the girl looked around. Sitting on a car was the black cat she had flattened earlier. It smiled and said, "Did I scare you?"

"Contractor!" shouted the tall man, aiming his gun at it. The cat hopped off, avoiding a bullet by centimeters. "Where'd it go?"

"Here!" it shouted, pouncing on the tall man and clawing his face.

"Ouch! Get off me! Ouch!" he shouted. Releasing the girl, he snatched the feline, ripped it off him and put a bullet in its chest. "And good riddance! Now," he pointed his gun at the girl, "Where's their hideout?"

"Like she could remember where," said the same voice. The group turned around and saw nothing. "Up here!" Perched up in a nearby tree was a bird staring down at them. "Did I scare you… again?"

"Who are you?" the tall man yelled.

"It's irrational to tell someone who is about to die!"

A wire wrapped around the tall man's neck and hung him. As the tall man choked, his partner attempted to save him, but ended up dodging a knife. Behind him stood a man in black wearing a white mask that featured a lightening bolt on it.

The Contractor highlighted in blue and placed his hand on the ground, forcing the man in black to somersault backwards. As he was about to land, the dark figure wrapped his wire around a branch and soared over another spike. He retracted the wire and landed a few yards from his opponent.

Wondering what the ruckus was, people began filing from their homes, but turned tail and ran back inside.

The tall man who was still struggling to breathe began losing consciousness and fell motionless.

The man in black rolled forward as two spikes were summoned and crashed into each other. In the split moment, the masked man dodged right before a concrete-like hammer could squash him like a pancake.

"You sure are taking your time," said the masked man.

"I'm trying to kill you as quick as I can," replied the Contractor.

The man in black shook his head, and said, "I wasn't talking to you."

"Your pet?" He chuckled. "Is he going to peck me to death?"

Suddenly, the Contractor felt a presence behind him, and formed a wall before a double-sided split knife embedded in his back. The Contractor lowered the wall and saw a messy black-haired boy.

"Two of you! Should have known since there were two who killed MM341." The Contractor began calling his power, but realized a wire had wrapped around his wrist. "What the?"

"The boy was the distraction, not the other way around," said the bird.

The man in black highlighted in blue and electrocuted the Contractor. Within seconds, a star fell.

Suzy looked on startled, however, reality kicked in and mournfully gazed at her father. Blood seeped like lava from him and pooled below. His face was left with a horrific expression, forever printed in Suzy's memory.

"Papa," she whimpered, as tears ran down her cheeks.

Hizumi came up to her, and said, "We have to go."

"No!" Suzy shook. "I'm not leaving him."

"The cops will be here soon. We have to go!"

Taking her arm, Hizumi started pulling, as she yelled and struggled with him.

"No! Let me go!"

Irritated, Hei placed his hand on her shoulder and sent a small electric shock through her body, knocking her out. Hizumi cradled Suzy and stared up at his father.

"That wasn't necessary!" he said.

"To get her to come with us. Yes, it was," said Hei.

The Black Reaper pealed his eyes away and disappeared into the night. Hizumi grinded his teeth and followed. Mao sighed at the father and son feud and flew off.

Xxx

Standing before a pond in a park outside of Yokohama, Megumi watched the sun set. The illumination blended in with her pink kimono, adorn with a blossoming sakura tree. Hanging over her right shoulder, her brown ponytail wig swayed slightly in the cool breeze.

She wore geta sandals, balancing on vibrant green grass while holding a picture of her cradling one-year-old Li in her arms.

Shoji approached, the wind ruffling his gray v-shaped collar shirt, loose fitting jeans and hair. On his forehead was a bandage from a five-inch gash.

"This is where you, Kanami-san and your mom had spread Li's ashes?" he asked, standing next to her.

"Hai," she replied. "He had loved it here. Every Sunday we'd come here. But after we had spread his ashes, we stopped. It was never the same."

"Why had you come to help us?"

"I… I don't know…" Megumi stared down at the photograph. "He wasn't my baby brother, just only had his memories. It's just that, when he had called me OneMegi, an old emotion had surfaced." She looked at Shoji. "I felt as though I was betraying Li-chan's memory feeling this way again.

"I… I miss him… everyday…! I want him back, and for a moment… it felt I had had him back." Her eyes began to water, as her insides ached. A tear escaped and landed on the photo. She wrapped her arms around her waist, trying to comfort herself, and clinched her eyelids shut.

"Gomenasai, Li-chan," she wept.

Unable to see her in pain, Shoji drew her against his chest. Unwilling to fight him, Megumi clung onto his shirt and cried into it.

He laid his chin on her head and let Megumi pour out her heart and soul.


	6. Chapter 6

DTB Gen New Season Two: The Ideal Contractor

**Chapter Six: A Face that's Familiar **

Hizumi glared devilishly at his father late at night for handing over Suzy to Madam Oreille. Blood boiling, he swung at the old reaper. Hei dodged it and pushed his son forward. He grabbed a backhanded assault, threw his offspring to the floor and pressed his foot on his neck while twisting his arm.

"Calm yourself or you can't hit anything!" instructed Hei.

He released his hold. Hizumi stood, and said, "How could you let her go?"

"She's not our problem," replied Hei. "She'll be safer with Oreille."

"I don't agree! I have a feeling Madam O will kill her."

"She has no intention of that," assured Mao, perched on top of the stairs in his crow body. "Oreille is giving her a new name, papers and sending her overseas."

"Sorry if I don't take your word for it."

"In any case, Oreille has an assassination job for you, Hizumi."

"For me? Why?"

"She wouldn't give me the details. You're to meet your contact tomorrow morning at eleven on Pier 93. He'll be your age and wearing a white tank top and brown shorts. Your code word is, 'the morning air is thin today,' in which he'll reply, 'it'll thicken up later.'"

Xxx

In her Maple Leaf pajamas, Megumi lay on her futon trying to sleep. Thoughts of Shoji embracing her plagued her mind. It had felt awkward at first, but also had felt right. The emotion was confusing her immensely and she wondered what she should do?

Her phone rang. Not recognizing the number, she ignored it.

The sensation was a trivial matter due to the fact that Shoji had returned to Tokyo after recovering from his injury. If you asked her, Megumi believed he could have had returned the following day for a slight bump and a minor scar on the head.

Her phone rang again, showing it was the same number and guessed it was a survey, or a marketing company.

As for her car, it had been totaled. What was worse, Megumi had to repeat driver's education and pay fines. Lucky for her, the CIA had coughed up the cash.

All that mattered now was finding a new or used car. She had been looking online, but none of them were in her price range.

Her phone buzzed, indicating she had received a text. Curious seeing that her generation had foregone texting, she picked up her phone and opened it.

_Answer the next ring, agent Megumi Itashi! _It read in English.

As on cue, it rang for a third time from the same number. Hitting the button, a woman appeared on it. She looked younger than Megumi, beautiful beyond words, and had luscious long hair that seemed to shine through the hologram.

"How'd you get my number?" Megumi questioned, speaking her second language.

"_I have information for you about Hachi Suzuki," _said the woman.

Megumi's eyes twitched. "Who are you?"

"_Come alone to the address I had sent to your phone."_

The unknown caller hung up.

Slowly standing, an irritated Megumi snatched her gun, and grabbed her cane.

Xxx

Half an hour later, Megumi arrived at a two-story apartment complex. The place was similar to BK201's former residence in Shinjuku.

Using the railing, she pulled herself up the stairs, stepped before room 201 and knocked on it. The door opened, revealing a brute, dark-skinned man who ushered her in.

The place was empty, except another brute, dark-skinned man. Before she knew it, brute one began frisking Megumi and removed her gun.

"Sorry for the inconvenient, agent Itashi, but you can never be safe now a days," said the luscious woman, as she stepped from the bathroom.

She wore a black leather outfit that shaped to her figure perfectly and seemed difficult to breathe in. To kick it off, her laced up high heel boots gave her an appearance that would have had Shoji fall head over heels.

"Who are you?" Megumi repeated.

"My name is irrelevant, agent Itashi," the woman stated. "Especially since I'm going to kill you." Brute one wrapped his arms around her neck. "I can't believe you just walked in here. You're either really brave or really stupid. I'd take stupid. Finish her!"

As he was about to snap her neck, something pierced through the window and struck brute one's head. Megumi tumbled backwards, back flipped over the railing and landed on top of a guy.

Thanking him for breaking her fall, Megumi began running as fast as she could. She looked over her shoulder, as brute two exited the room and received a bullet in the back.

Megumi rounded the corner, but to her astonishment, a woman dressed in a blue suit and had long wavy brown hair stood next to a blue Porsche.

"It can't be?" Megumi questioned.

Kirihara Misaki smiled, but then pointed her gun at Megumi, and fired.

Xxx

On Pier 93, Hizumi kept an eye out for his contact. He held onto a red baseball cap, as his white shirt ruffled in the wind and seagulls hovered in it.

The pier itself resembled an angled P-shape that had a few stores and a carousel. In addition, docks branched off it.

It was swarming with individuals, making it seem as though he was searching for a needle in a haystack. Hizumi slightly pushed a few people out of his path, sidestepped a couple others, and halted as a boy ran towards the carousel. Unfortunately, a girl bumped into his back and smeared her chocolate ice cream on his shirt.

She looked at her empty cone, eyes tearing up and cried.

Not wanting any part of a whining kid, Hizumi took his leave and headed to the nearest restroom.

"Hey, you!" yelled a man. "You think you can run into my kid and knock her ice cream on the ground!"

Hizumi turned and faced a Caucasian man in his thirties glaring. He flexed his tattoo arms, acting tough in his Son's of Anarchy tank top, rugged-bulky shorts and foul-stench sandals. The tattoo man's balding hair whipped sideways in the breeze.

"Your kid ran into me," corrected Hizumi.

"You callen' me a liar?"

"Yes!" nodded the young reaper.

Infuriating the tattoo man, he threw a right hook. Hizumi snatched it, as though it were a baseball and broke his nose.

People gasped in fright.

"Ooch! Fo'k mann." The tattoo man cupped his bloody nose. "Y'u b'oke id!"

Hizumi ignored his rant and entered a restroom to wash off the chocolate stain as best as possible before continuing his search.

At the end of the pier, the son of the resurrected reaper spotted his contact sitting on a bench. The wind tugged at his white tank top, shaggy blond hair and kaki pants. A backpack lay between his sandals.

Hizumi sat on the left side of the tank top man.

"The morning air is thin today," he said.

"It'll thicken up later," replied the tank top man.

"You think maybe picking somewhere else next time?"

"Not my decision. I was given the same instructions. Everything you need to know about your target is in here." He slid the backpack over. "Make it quick too." Standing up, the tank top man looked down at Hizumi. "And I suggest you change your outfit. I'm sure somebody called security on you after your little fight."

"You need not worry about me. I'm merely a blade in the crowd."

The tank top man smirked and headed off. Waiting a few seconds, Hizumi stood to depart the Pier. Three security guards spotted him and began making chase.

With a quick shift, Hizumi headed for a Player's Sports Bar and entered it. The guards followed, noticing he was exiting the back and did the same. However, they lost sight of him.

The three guards split up, but came up empty handed. One of them noticed a stained white shirt and red baseball cap floating off the pier's right side.

Shirtless , he slung the backpack over his shoulder and departed the pier.

Xxx

Unbeknownst to why Misaki had shot at Megumi, she glared at her mother lost for words. However, reality returned to her and realized she had not been the target. Megumi looked behind her and saw the luscious woman lying on the ground.

"What the…?" Megumi returned her attention towards her mother. "What is going on? Why are you still alive?"

"Do you know how much that hurts?" asked the women.

Dumbstruck, Megumi glared back at the leather women, as she glowed blue while standing up. The bullet embedded in her chest popped out, allowing the wound to heal.

"Con… Contractor…?" Megumi questioned.

"Yes, we do," replied Misaki. "My daughter and I both have been shot. Unlike you, though, we're not immortal, VP008."

"Im… mortal…?"

Smiling, VP008 said, "And the price I get, I can't see the sun rise or fall. I'm the equivalent of the modern day vampire. And I don't sparkle! Now," she raised a gun, "it's time to die!"

There was an ear-wrench horn sound and blinding lights approaching from the vampire woman's right. She glanced at it and was bulldozed by a semi. Misaki snatched Megumi's wrist and shoved her into the passenger seat. The resurrected woman took the wheel, throwing the shifter into first and peeled off while performing a one-eighty.

"What the hell is going on, Mom?" yelled Megumi. "Or are you even my mom? You some kind of clone or Doll?"

"I _am_ your mother," replied Misaki, shifting into second, and then into third. "Like BK201, I was brought back to life."

"Brought back…? You never once thought to contact me? Do you have any idea how torn up Kanami-san and I have been?"

Dropping into forth, Misaki said, "You know why I had to keep away."

"Then why did you come and save me? You have to know my curse is still intact."

"I know, but I didn't come here to save you. My new partner and I have been tracking VP008 for a year and it so happens you two crossed paths. The Phoenix has put out a bounty on your head on the black market. One hundred million U.S. dollars to be exact."

"A bounty? They want me dead so bad that they put a hit out on me! Why? I had left the Foreign Affairs two years ago. I was nothing!"

"They believe you might return to the Foreign Affairs or Section Four and give them problems. They were partially true with you joining the CIA."

"They started it by killing Katashi!"

"I'm sorry for your lose, sweetie. He was a nice guy."

Misaki's phone rang. She hit the button and revealed a scruffy looking, gray-haired man. The guy was looking through a scope, indicating he had been the shooter who had taken out VP008's men.

"_Nobody is following, Ichinose," _he said.

"Thanks, Yajarobi," replied Misaki. "Meet back at HQ."

"_Copy that."_

The link disconnected.

"Ichinose Yayoi, is it!" muttered Megumi. "That means you're still working for Section Three."

Xxx

VP008 held onto the semi's grill firmly, as it barreled down the narrow and cluttered streets. The last thing she wanted to experience was a twenty-ton vehicle squashing her like a pancake. She climbed towards the driver side door and opened it to reveal a vacant cabin.

Pissed off at how she had been played, VP008 pulled out her phone and watched as a blue dot drove around town. Sitting in the driver's seat, she reprogrammed the GPS and headed towards her target.

Xxx

Keeping dry from the downpour, Hizumi sat in a retro-aerodynamic red Chevette that had been put back in production. The sun piercing through the clouds formed a rainbow over the city.

He was staking out the Gin Ling Way Gateway leading into Old Chinatown. The entrance was built in a traditional Gateway that had buildings beside and behind it.

After ten minutes had past, the rain settled down.

Hizumi picked up photos that lay next to him and memorized the image.

On them was an Asian woman in her fifties, her shoulder length black hair swaying, as sunglasses held out the suns raze. Her black coat covered her white blouse, had on black nylons under a mini skirt and wore bone crushing high heels.

Her name was Mi Wong from Beijing, China.

From the intelligence report, she had information on Madam Oreille's operation and was planning on selling it to the highest bidder. She was scheduled to board a plane today at the Los Angels Airport and depart for Russia.

At times, Hizumi wondered what it would have been like to live in China or Japan instead of being on the run during his early childhood life, and spend the rest of it being knocked around like a pinball.

Speaking of his childhood, the only memory he had of his mother was of her lying dead in her blood. He remembered trying to shake his mother awake, but nothing else. Those images haunted him every time he closed his eyes. He had pleaded with Madam Oreille to extinguish it with M.E., but she had refused.

"It's what fuels you to try to best your father and what makes you strong," she had said. "It would be a waste if you had rid it."

It was more of a curse.

Movement at the gate caught his attention and he spotted is target wearing the same clothing in the picture: except the coat. She waved down a taxi and sat in the back. It heading south, Hizumi followed.

His car was specially constructed. It had rid the TCS controls and contained foot pedals for faster response and quicker acceleration.

At the first intersection, the cab made a right and turned left to head down a few yards before stopping in front of Best Western Inn.

Mi Wong exited the Taxicab, spoke to the driver for a few seconds, and entered the hotel. Hizumi followed her into the four-story Inn and lost sight of her.

Putting on a deceiving smile, he walked up to a young dark-skinned woman standing behind the lobby counter.

"Can I help you, sir?" she asked, looking up from her holo screen.

"Yes, my mother rented a room here to see the city," he said. "I wanted to surprise her. Could you tell me her room number, please?"

"Sorry, but her finger print has been entered into our system and we can't reroute everything."

"I know. I just want to knock on her door."

"Her name, sir?"

"Mi Wong."

The woman typed in the name, shook her head, and said, "I'm sorry, but there's nobody with that name staying here."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have gotten the wrong hotel," Hizumi replied quickly, figuring she had used an alias.

Exiting the hotel, he sat in his car and decided on plan B, as it began pouring.

He reminisced on his first training session against Hei. His father had taken it easy on him at first, but six months later it had been brutal. Hizumi was black and blue from head to toe. His right eyelid had swelled to the size of a baseball. The beating continued until he had learned how to block, but that had had its limits.

Even after twenty years of training, Hei was an opponent that was beyond an SS class. However, there was always someone stronger, but who was BK201's?

His target departed the hotel, dawning her black coat. Taking the opportune moment, Hizumi exited his car and, as she reached the taxicab, he placed a knife to Mi Wong's throat and dragged her to his car.

"No! Let me go!" she screamed, as she tried freeing herself.

Commuters gasped in fright while the cabby stormed out, and yelled, "Hey, stop!"

Hizumi knocked the woman's head against his car, staggering her and breaking her sunglasses, and blocked the cabby's right hook. The young reaper snapped the cabby's arm and knocked him out. Before Mi Wong could regain her balance, Hizumi shoved her into the trunk.

Cracking his neck in success, he sat in the driver seat and drove off. Minutes later, he had the L.A.P.D. on his tail.

"_Pull over, now!"_

"Losers," Hizumi mumbled. "You don't even stand a chance."

He put the pedal to the metal and left his pursuers in the dust. The power in the police cars lacked the torque to keep pace. However, as he made a right, a super-charged police car stormed onto the scene. It looked as though he was going to have a fight.

Pulling up on the emergency break, Hizumi's car skidded leftwards around a corner, squeezing by oncoming traffic and continued on. To his dislike, his pursuer was still on his tail. The young assassin whipped around a brown car, shot by a yellow SUV, and cut off a red truck. He looked in his review mirror and saw the muscle car had done the same thing.

Hizumi slammed on the brakes and skidded sideways, causing the cop to ram into the passenger side. He stormed out his car, worked his way around the debris and glared down at the conscious-banged up officer.

Drawing back his arm, the blue-eyed reaper knocked him out. He popped open his trunk and yanked out his prey. Hizumi removed his knife to finish the job, but held his hand, as he stared into her hazel blue eyes.

A feeling he had not experienced surfaced in the pit of his stomach. It was a painful and gut wrenching sickness, as though he was going to make a big mistake. Shaking it away, Hizumi readied himself again.

She looked on petrified, throwing up her hands in defense, but then her eyes widened, as though a thought had crossed her mind.

"I know who your mother is!" she shouted.

He fell paralyzed, as if her words had taken control of him.

"How would you know that?" he asked, curiously.

"Because I knew your mother! She's my twin sister!" The words echoed through his mind, confusing his senses. "You spare me and I'll tell you everything about her! Her real name and yours!"

Xxx

Misaki pulled into a garage and parked between two cars. The blue blood women exited the car, as Megumi took in the sight.

"You have a place here in Yokohama too?" she questioned.

"And Kyoto," informed Misaki. "We also have places in major cities in America and England."

"You guys need a hobby that doesn't include spying on people," frowned Megumi.

"We are not spying, agent Itashi," said a male voice.

Turning around, Megumi gazed up at towering man, his gray hair resembling a snow-capped mountaintop and hollow eyes that swallowed her whole. He had on dark camouflage; his vest's pockets filled, belt holding dozens of clips and black laced-up boots.

"We are protecting the world from scum like the Phoenix," he finished.

Megumi gave him a perplexed look, and said, "You keep telling yourself that."

"This is my partner, Yajarobi," introduced Misaki.

She gestured Megumi and her partner into an elevator. They ascended, Megumi feeling squeamish, but kept quiet. Moments later, they exited onto a cubical-cluttered floor where Goro waited. To her left was a stunning view of Yokohama.

"VP008 is still alive," he said.

"You forget she's immortal," pointed out Misaki.

"Nothing is immortal, agent Ichinose Yayoi, or have you forgotten me telling you that? Everything has an ending. Even the Earth."

"Everything except death itself," interrupted Megumi. Everybody looked at her. "There is always going to be death."

Goro smiled.

"Sir, we have a problem!" shouted one of his men. Goro turned towards him. "A female has entered the premises. Our men fired at her, but she's not dying. It seems she's a Contractor."

"VP008!" said Misaki. "How'd she find us?" She looked at her daughter. "She touch you at anytime?"

"No!" replied Megumi.

"Her brutes had," indicated Yajarobi.

Misaki patted down Megumi and pulled out a miniature-sized bulge from her pajama's pocket.

"It must have had been slipped in when I was being frisked," figured Megumi.

"She's ascending in the elevator as we speak!" yelled Goro's man.

"Everybody! Get into formation before the elevator!"

Half a dozen men did as ordered. As Yajarobi scooted past them, he pulled out a grenade and removed the safety pin. The elevator dinged for their floor and, as the doors slid opened, he tossed in the grenade.

VP008 looked down at it frowning. The device exploded, rattling the compact space and engulfing it flames.

"Fire!" ordered Goro.

His men did as ordered, spraying the walls with bullet holes.

After they unloaded their rifles, everybody gazed at the demolished and smoke-filled elevator. Blue light and red beady eyes appeared from it, followed by a gunfire and Yajarobi catching a bullet in his chest. The men reloaded and continued firing, however, it did no good, as they were picked off one by one.

After the last man was dead, VP008 stepped from the smoke. Her clothes were shredded, had broken bones and gashes that revealed her intestines and beating heart. Inconceivably the wounds were miraculously healing. Misaki and Goro pointed their guns, but they were taken care of instantly.

"Mom!" shouted Megumi.

"That… really… HURTS!" screamed VP008. "I hate being caught in an explosion!" She aimed her gun at Megumi. "You've been an admirable opponent. I'll make your death quick."

The sun's rays peaked between buildings and illuminated the office. VP008's blue light vanquished to where her wounds stopped healing.

"Ah, AHHH!" she cried in agony. "No! Not now!"

"Sunshine!" whispered Megumi.

She grabbed her mother's gun and put two rounds into VP008's exposed heart. She gave her prey a disproving look before taking her last breath.

Heart-stricken for her mother, Megumi hurried over to Misaki and became aware that she was wearing a Kevlar vest. However, Goro and his men weren't.

Xxx

Hizumi and Mi Wong busted into a rugged abandoned home. The place was empty except for a mildew infested couch and rat feces. Water dripped from the damaged ceiling, forming puddles along the creaking floor and the light above flickered.

"Thank you," she said.

Hizumi pulled out his knife, placed it to her throat, and said, "Start talking."

"Get me to the airport by three and I'll talk."

Irritated from the lack of cooperation, the young reaper pressed harder.

"Talk!" he demanded

"How can I guarantee you won't kill me after I have told you?"

"How can I guarantee what you tell me is true?"

The middle-aged woman held up her hands in defense, reached into her coat pocket and pulled out an old photo. It revealed a woman that looked like a young Mi Wong holding a blue-eyed toddler boy with black hair.

"That is you and your mother," she said. "It had been sent to me two months before she was killed by Hei." She put it away. "Her name was Ching Lan."

"And my name?"

"I'll tell you once you help me reach the airport."

Hizumi glared at her devilishly, gripping tightly on his blade, but nodded and sheathed it. Mi Wong stretched her neck and checked it, making sure Hizumi had not drawn blood.

They exited the house and broke into a green Chevy. Hizumi ripped off the bottom steering wheel cover, began hotwiring the car and brought it to life. Using a pocketknife, he unscrewed the TCS control screen and rerouted a few wires.

"_Ttttt… cccc… sssss…. Errorrrrr… Ttttt… cccc… sssss… Unablllleee… to…. Conneccctttt!" _echoed the TCS.

He popped off the steering wheel panel, snipped two wires and clipped on two levers. Angling the right lever upwards, the car moved.

"How did you do that without an illegal overwrite traffic control device?"

"You learn a few things in my line of work," he said. Hizumi hopped onto the I110 freeway, heading south. "How do you know my code name?"

Mi Wong pulled out an old iPhone, scrolled down and tapped it a few times.

"_Mi, it's Ching," _a recording began._ "If you get this message, then Oreille succeeded and I am dead. I had programmed my phone to send this if I had not reset the instant message every twenty-four hours._

"_No doubt she would have taken my son alive, and I have a feeling she would get Hei to train him. Heh, I didn't want this life for him, as I'm sure Hei would not either. I know what I am doing, or what I had done is a mistake, but I just want the best for my son. Everybody should have a choice in __life__, not decided for them."_

"_Mommy, I'm hungry," _said a boy's voice.

"_I'll be there in a minute, honey!_

"_Please don't seek vengeance for me, or save my son from Oreille. Even though I didn't want that for him, I know Hei won't let anything bad happen to him._

"_I love you, sis. Goodbye."_

"I had listened to her at first," spoke up Mi Wong, "but after BK201's star reappeared in the sky and a young Black Reaper revealed his presence in Tokyo, I knew it had been you taking over your father's legacy. I made it my priority at ending her. I've spent years tracking her down.

"Last month, I succeeded at hacking her system. I gathered every file that I could, including yours. Everything was there, a picture of you, your mother and father's name, your real name, and your code name."

"You know Hei's real name as well? What is it?"

"I'll tell you at the airport."

Hizumi's jaw line tightened, indicating Megumi's habits were rubbing off on him. His so-called aunt was getting on his nerves.

"Why did she join Madam Oreille?" he asked.

"Our dad and his gambling. To pay it off, he had to sell her to a brothel. We had just turned thirteen when that had happened. When she turned twenty-one, Madam Oreille obtained her. The owner owed her some money and sold my sister."

"And you learned this from her files?"

"Yes and no. When you were only one year old, your mother showed up on my door and told me everything. Ching Lan didn't stay long. After she had left, I had a couple of people working for Madam O show up on my doorstep." She pulled up her shirt and revealed scars. "They tortured me for hours, and when they knew I knew nothing, they used M.E. on me. I only learned about it after stealing Madam O's records."

Lights started flashing behind him. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he saw an L.A.P.D. car. Mi Wong looked back, dumbfounded.

"How did they find us?" she asked.

"It's not us, it's the car. The owner probably noticed it gone or had spotted me stealing it."

Hizumi gave the car more power, pushing it to ninety miles per hour, however, without any torque; the cop car was able to keep pace. The chase was going to be determined by talent.

Hizumi zigzagged around a few cars, as did his tail. Coming up to four cars driving side by side, he passed on the right shoulder.

More cop cars arrived.

To Hizumi's luck, one of them was a performance police car. It came up to his side and spun him one hundred-eighty degree. Hizumi let it coast in reverse, whipped the car forward and spun out the super-charged cop car into a barrier.

Figuring losing his pursuers on the expressway was futile; Hizumi pulled off and drifted through a red light, nearly colliding into another vehicle. The cop cars screeched to a stop, but crashed instead.

However, the chase was far from over, as a helicopter flew overhead.

Hizumi stopped under a bridge and exited the car, as did Mi Wong. He peeked up at the helicopter, indicating it was out of their range and stormed up a ramp.

However, before they could hide, a sharp pain shot through Mi Wong's abdomen. Hizumi looked back and saw a glowing tall man run into an alley.

He thought about chasing the Contractor, but his priority was Mi Wong. He picked her up and busted into a bar. Hizumi laid her on a pool table and laid eyes on a cartelized fist size hole.

"Please, what's my name?" he begged her, grabbing her hand and knowing she had little time left.

Mi Wong opened her mouth, but she could not muster the strength and slipped away.

"Mi Wong! Mi Wong-san!"

Hizumi's head drooped in dismay.

Xxx

Down an alley, the tall Contractor was talking on the phone. He had a long neck that blended into his chin, thinning brown hair and dull purple eyes. He wore a Star Wars Heir to the Empire shirt, tan shorts that had countless pockets and worn out sandals.

"Yes, it is done, Madam O," he said. He let her talk. "No. I don't believe she told him." She said a few more words. "No, I wasn't able to without confronting Hizumi."

Something pierced his back. He looked over his shoulder and stared into Hizumi's eyes. The knife was yanked from his back, allowing him eternal rest. As a star fell, Hizumi picked up the phone.

"_I take it KI321 is dead now, Hizumi,"_ said Madam Oreille.

"Why did you give me this mission?" he asked. "You knew who she was. You could have had given it to KI321."

"_To send a message."_

"And what would have been the message that I think she didn't get?"

"_Not Mi Wong. You, Hizumi. No matter what you do, you can never protect the people you love. Your father couldn't protect his sister, your mother couldn't protect you, and you couldn't protect your long lost Aunt. If you couldn't protect her, how do you think you can protect Suzy Lu, or more to the fact, Megumi-chan?"_

"You set all this up! Didn't you! You let Mi Wong get her hands on your folders!"

Oreille chuckled, and said, _"Make sure you destroy the evidence. Bye, bye!"_

Hizumi smashed the phone against a wall. Feeling a presence, he turned around and saw Hei approaching, his hands in his pocket.

"Time to leave, son."

Xxx 

Megumi sat before a shrine alongside her cane. The place was crowed with tourists posing before it and residences performing their usual prayers. Overcast had engulfed the city that formed a cool breeze.

Dressed in casual clothes, Kirihara Misaki approached and sat next to her daughter.

"Oreille made me the leader of Section Three," she said.

"Thought as much," replied Megumi. "Where are you heading?"

"You know I can't tell you that."

The young agent frowned.

"What about Hachi?" she asked, staring at her mother. "Any word about him?"

"You know I can't tell you that either. But," Misaki returned the gaze; "Oreille has been keeping a close eye, or more like, 'eyes,' on them."

"Eyes? Dolls?"

"New Dolls she had acquired."

"Have you run into Hachi at all?"

Misaki was quiet for a few seconds before saying, "No. They're always off doing other things."

Megumi's jaw line tightened, as she nodded.

Her mother stood and began leaving.

"Is this the last time we'll see each other?" Megumi asked.

Misaki turned to gaze down at her daughter, and said, "I don't know."

She continued on and disappeared in the crowd.

Xxx

Hizumi sat in his room staring at the picture of him and his mother. He had destroyed everything Madam Oreille had ordered: except this.

Standing up, Hizumi walked over to a trunk and opened it. He moved knives and masks aside and unlatched a hidden door. Inside were toys, comic books and handheld video games he had collected over the years. He placed the picture inside and closed the hatch.

Down stairs, Hei stood in front of the fireplace staring at a picture of him and Cho. He had his arms wrapped around her while a stranger took it. It had been taken a month before he had found out the truth.

After learning why Hizumi had spared his target, his own memories had resurfaced. Guilt still swarmed in his gut for killing Cho. He still loved her to this day and wished things could have had been different.

Unfortunately, Madam Oreille would see other wise even if Cho had not worked or had been released from her hold.

Taking a deep breath, he threw the picture into the fire and let it burn. It was time to let go of the past.


	7. Chapter 7

**DTB Gen New Season Two: The Ideal Contractor**

**A/N: I am deeply sorry for how long it has been for me posting this chapter. My work has picked up heavily and I haven't had time or the energy to work on any of this. I've been staying to like seven or eight at night at work due to the painters at my work being down a man and need help after six.**

**I do apologize to everybody who thinks I have abandoned him or her. I haven't. Hopefully when the fall and winter season approaches, work will subside and I can get more time again to check my e-mails, write my stories and roam on other sites.**

**Again, I am truly, deeply, sorry.**

**Chapter Seven: The Rivals of Hatred**

Late in the night on the streets of San Francisco, a person wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and blue baseball cap turned into a dark and murky alley. Halfway down stood an albino man in a business suit under the backstreet's scarcely light source. Arms crossed, his shady eyes gave a grim look.

"Took you long enough," he scolded.

"What's the word?" the blue cap man asked, calmly.

Frowning, the albino man said, "From what I've been told, she dies tomorrow."

"Where and what time?"

"Her work. There's a man on the inside. We're supposed to be ready around twenty-one hundred hours. So I have a feeling in the morning."

"Who's doing the job?"

Narrowing his eyes, the albino man said, "You ask a lot of questions. Just be ready to pick up the body and deliver it."

"Actually, you're going to tell me everything." The blue cap man placed a split double-sided knife to his prey's throat. Ice-blue eyes glared devilishly into his. "Tell me or you'll be grinning from ear to ear like your partner!"

Xxx

Agent Itashi sat at her desk pondering on her mother and hoped they never crossed paths again. If that happened, she feared she would have to arrest her. To be blunt, Megumi had kept her mom's resurrection a secret: even from Kanami.

It was killing her, but how would she break the news and what would be Kanami's reaction?

"Megumi!" shouted Gardner from behind. Distracted from her thoughts, she looked up. "You know where Freddy Fry is?"

"Yeah. At his desk," she said, pointing towards him, but he was missing.

"Maybe using the toilet?" said Olivia, sitting on Megumi's left. "Why? We get another case?"

"No. He had something for me," huffed Gardner.

"That would be us!"

Megumi's eyes bulged. Turning around, she pulled out her gun and discharged it, but an invisible shield materialized before Hachi, Freddy Fry and the teenage Contractor.

The Contractor aimed his hand, and as he released a red beam, Gardner jumped in front, killing him.

"Again, you survived!" yelled Hachi, grinding his teeth. "I figured since we had Freddy as a spy, I would get the drop on you with him shutting down the security. But NO! It's like you're a reincarnated cat with its nine lives still intact! Kill her already!"

Ubi highlighted in blue. Suddenly, two dark beings appeared from a black hole and yanked the agent women into it. Before it vanished, Ubi sent an energy beam into the abyss.

"What… the… HELL…?" Hachi screamed. The teenage-boy stepped before a holo computer and began typing. "What are you doing?"

"I injured the Contractor who had saved them," informed Ubi. "They will not get far."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure."

Xxx

The agent women reemerged in the building's basement. Generators, leaky pipes and dim lighting packed the cramped space. Leaning against a pipeline, Megumi looked at one of her saviors donned in black and a spine-chilling white mask, with graying hair. He placed his right hand on a generator and short-circuited it using his power.

"BK201!" she scowled. "Why did you save us?"

"You're… welcome… would be… nice…" muttered her other savior, who resembled a four-eyed black bear.

However, her choice of wear was not Megumi's concern, it was the three-inch diameter scorch mark on her abdomen.

"Parcel?" Hei questioned.

"I'm fine," she lied, "but I can't move everybody. All I can do is stall them. Get these girls out of here."

"Not until I know why," replied Megumi.

"There's no time!" yelled Parcel, cringing in pain. "Go!"

"Tell me what's going on. Why are you two here?" Unexpectedly, Hei scooped her in his arms. Blushing, Megumi screamed, "Oi, wait one minute here! Let me down, idiot!"

Ignoring her, Hei departed, as Olivia trailed.

Taking the opportune moment, Parcel hid behind a six-foot pipe.

Within seconds, the teenage Contractor appeared a few feet from her. He began glowing blue; his eyes scanning the vicinity, as the boy walked around. She figured he had X-ray vision.

To her predicament, Ubi's eyes fell upon her. An unknown power took over her body, preventing her from moving; however, it would do no good against her. Parcel called forth her power and engulfed him in a black hole.

"Houston, the Eagle has landed," she chuckled before losing consciousness.

Xxx

Reemerging from nothingness, the boy Contractor found himself on a powder white and rocky surface. In the distance hovered a hazy purplish Earth. The female Contractor somehow had mustard enough energy to send him to the moon. Gasping for breath, Ubi immediately teleported. However, unable to judge the distance to Earth, it took him four attempts before reappearing in its atmosphere. To his displeasure, and lack of wings, he was five thousand miles above sea level. Teleporting once more, Ubi emerged in Antarctica.

Somehow, in the void of his being, the teenage Contractor was irritated. However, it was gone in a blink of an eye.

Transporting back into a darkened Yokohama police station, Ubi found the place littered of corpses. Hachi was standing over a dark-skinned woman, her white blouse and navy blue skirt doused in blood. Freddy Fry hid quivering under a desk, his face and clothes covered in gore.

"What happened?" Hachi asked. "Did you kill them?"

An African-American and another agent burst in, but before they could draw their weapons, Ubi snapped their necks.

"No," he replied, and filled him in.

"Damn it! Between Megumi escaping, agents trying to kill me and the power getting knocked out, I'm getting peeved." He stared down at the navy blue woman. "This dumb broad happened to get caught in the crossfire!"

"Her… her name… was… Aaliyah," stuttered Freddy Fry.

Hachi glared at him and looked back at Ubi.

"No doubt BK201 had knocked out the power," he continued. "Take scaredy-cat down to the basement and fix it." The Gen New Contractor placed his hand on Freddy's shoulder and disappeared. "At least one of them is dead!"

Xxx

Hizumi sat on a couch in his hideout, hands laced together, as his right foot tapped frantically. He was displeased being sidelined: especially since it was he who had strangled out the information.

The young reaper was going to kill Hei and the old hag.

"You're looking a little uneasy."

Startled, he stood while turning and realized Madam Oreille had gotten the drop on him. The woman was gorgeous, but deadly.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"Just making sure you're staying put," she chimed.

"Like I could do anything since they're on the other side of the ocean."

Oreille smiled, and said, "Like that could stop anybody these days."

Hizumi glared at her peculiarly.

Xxx

The unusual trio entered a stall in the men's bathroom, Hei setting Megumi on the loo, as Olivia locked the door.

"Why did you save us?" Megumi asked again.

"It was Madam Oreille's idea," replied Hei, glaring at nothing particular.

"Why not send somebody younger: like Hizumi?"

Slightly offended, BK201 looked at her, and said, "She figured you'd get upset and try to put a bullet in him, or he would take things too personal and get killed."

"What's to say I don't try and put a bullet in you?" she stated, raising her gun.

Hei shifted, his mask's right eye glaring at her, and said, "Go ahead and try."

Placing her weapon behind her back, Megumi mumbled, "Like father, like son." Speaking up, she continued, "How'd Madam O find out Hachi was going to attack us?"

"She keeps tabs on him, more or less with Dolls," he said, and mentioned the Intel they had gained in San Francisco.

"So why not send you and Hizumi after him?"

"They keep moving around too much in a blink of an eye. Oreille sent Hizumi to save you and your fiancé. However, he arrived too late and he almost was killed."

"Wait?" Megumi's eyes narrowed. "Hizumi was there?"

"Enough!" shouted Olivia. "We're in a serious situation here! Even though you knocked out the power, they'll get Freddy to fix it. It's going to take him about an hour to get it running."

"Half an hour," corrected Hei.

Olivia frowned. "Whatever. Once it's done, Ubi is coming after us. If we can't figure something out, we're dead."

"Two of us are at least dead."

"Oh, sorry, I forgot you're the Black Reaper and you can't die so easily!"

"Not me. Your partner."

Olivia looked at Hei baffled. "You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

"Nothing!" yelled Megumi, not surprised he knew. "There's nothing to say."

"She can't die," he stated.

Megumi tightened her jaw line.

"Can't… die…? How come?" Olivia asked.

Hei filled her in.

"Is this true?" Olivia rounded on Megumi. Frowning, she nodded. "And I take it Gardner knew as well. Just being next to you I could get killed! If he hadn't shown up in the last second, I'd be the one dead right now!"

"We don't have time for chit-chat," cut in Hei. "I'm sure Ubi will be guarding your ex-partner. Now would be a good time for you two to kill Suzuki Hachi while I handle the other two."

"By yourself?" questioned Megumi. "You'll need help."

"Not with you around," Hei shook his head, "and I don't want to protect your partner either. I have a better chance on my own."

"I knew my mother was wrong about you! She had said you never really thought just about yourself. That you'd always help others out! She had said you weren't like any other Contractors. I guess you had her fooled!"

Hei kept his stare on hers.

"Who's going to carry her if you leave us?" pointed out Olivia, breaking the silence. "Or have you forgotten she's crippled."

"Get her a wheelchair," informed Hei."

"That's not going to help us with the power out! We're gonna have to use the stairs to get to the twentieth floor. And last time I checked, we're only on the fifth."

He opened the stall, glared at Olivia, and said, "Better get going," before departing.

Cursing, Olivia shouldered Megumi, exited the restroom and headed left towards the emergency staircase. Once there, the agent women looked up and sighed at the long ascending staircase.

Xxx

Hei hooked his wire to a railing, descended into the basement and crouched behind pipelines. In the distance he noticed a young nerdy kid rewiring the circuitry on a generator.

"Ouch! Hot… wire!" the kid cried. "Ouch! Hot… wire! Ouch! B…BK… really did… really did a… number… to… to this! Ouch! Hot… wire!"

It felt too easy.

Pulling out his knife, he crept towards the kid, and as he was about to slit his throat, there was a sudden tension on his neck. Hei spun in mid air and landed like a feline.

"Motioned your body while I tried to snap it!" complemented Ubi, materializing. "I didn't think that that would be possible."

Freddy Fry looked over his shoulder, yelped, and pressed against the power generator.

"What...? What…? What's going… on?" questioned Freddy.

"I was using you as bait to get the drop on BK201," pointed out Ubi.

"Bbbb… bait! I'm… I'm… not… bait!"

Ubi held up his index and middle finger and shot a laser beam through Freddy's heart. He looked on flabbergasted before passing on.

"You've worn out your use." Glowing blue, Ubi glared at Hei who readied for an attack; however, it felt as though a ton of bricks had been placed on his shoulders and he dropped on all fours. "I know your weakness."

Xxx

Ten minutes into their climb and nearly out of breath, the agent women arrived at the twentieth floor. Megumi sat against the wall, as Olivia pressed her back on the opposite side of the door. Looking up at her partner, the brown-eyed woman nodded she was ready. Olivia kicked in the door and retook cover, as five rounds were released.

"Got to have someone else do your dirty work?" yelled Hachi. "I'm going to kill you, Itashi! You hear me! You're a dead woman!"

Ignoring his rant, Megumi peeked around the corner and fired two rounds at her desk. Hachi stood and unloaded three bullets, as Olivia copied her partner's action.

Hachi released four more rounds and cursed after realizing he had emptied out his clip. The agents moved in, Olivia giving them cover, and hid behind two separate desks. Agent Itashi fitted in a new clip and fired.

"Would you just die!" shouted Hachi. "You're like a New York cockroach!"

"I take it he doesn't know," Olivia eyed Megumi.

She shook her head, having her partner roll her eyes.

Getting an idea, Megumi indicated towards Olivia to keep still, which made the blonde-haired woman frown. The crippled agent sat on a rolling chair and pushed off, firing as Hachi stood. Plowing into her desk, she slid over and plunged into him, knocking away his gun.

Megumi pinned him underneath her and began pummeling him using her gun, breaking his nose, busting his lips and knocking out his two front teeth. The brown-eyed woman cocked back her weapon, aimed it between his eyes and as she fired, Hachi jerked his head rightward.

Knocking the gun aside, he rolled Megumi off him, scrambled for his nine-millimeter and shot half a dozen bullets. Megumi crawled for cover and leaned against it.

"Foken bi'ch!" mumbled Hachi, spitting blood. "Foke!"

Olivia glared at Megumi, and asked, "Now what?"

Xxx

Ubi headed towards his prey, but stopped as Hei removed his gloves and slipped off his shoes under five times normal gravity. Somewhat impressed, the Contractor postponed the execution. Inconceivably, the Black Reaper forcibly stood, removed his mask, shattering it, and peeled off his coat that dropped like metal chains.

"Weights in your clothing, I take it," pointed out Ubi.

"I got sick… of being overcome… by… gravity," breathed Hei, "so the past two years… I've been wearing this… crap… and raising up weights."

The Contractor pulled out a knife, and said, "I am betting your reaction time is slow though."

Ubi attacked, forcing Hei to use his forearm as a shield. In a split second, Ubi vanished, avoiding electrocution that ended his gravity hold and reappeared behind Hei. The aged Reaper performed a roundhouse kick, but missed as the Contractor disappeared again.

Hei was placed under heavy gravity. Ubi reappeared and before he could stab his prey in the heart, Hei pivoted right to where his shoulder took the blunt of the force. The old reaper called on his power, but the teenage boy teleported six feet away.

"Taking the damage to perform the final kill," said Ubi. "Impressive, but not good enough." He glowed blue and froze Hei in his stance. "I do not think you can avoid my final attack."

A grenade rolled towards him. Ubi's eyes widened and vanished before it erupted. Hei threw his knife behind him and impaled the prestige's shoulder. Realizing a line was connected to it, Ubi disappeared, as electricity ripped through it. He materialized a few feet from Hei.

"It seems you have back up," said Ubi, holding his wound. "Let's call it a draw."

The Contractor dematerialized. Not taking any chances, Hei surveyed the area, but there was nothing. Mao flew down from the rafters and landed in front of his comrade.

"Close call, I would say," he said. Hei's eye twitched. "Where's Parcel?"

"Dead, I'm guessing," replied Hei. "What about the agent women? They take care of Suzuki Hachi?"

"No. He's been a nuisance for them." Grinding his teeth, Hei ran into the staircase and threw up his wire as far as possible. "Oi, what are you doing?"

"Going to save them."

"What? With your injuries?"

"They don't stand a chance against Ubi."

"But you might be killed?"

Hei ignored his rant and shot upwards.

"IDIOT!"

Xxx

Hachi spat out blood while wondering how to defeat the agent women. His question was answered, as Ubi appeared next to him.

"I'm injured. Time to go," he said.

"Noob! Not to Megubi is dead!" babbled Hachi.

Gazing around the room, he located the women and lifted them up using telekinesis. Olivia tried firing a round, but her puppeteer kept her from doing so.

"Take your shot," gestured Ubi.

Hachi stood while smiling, resembling Joker from the Batman series due to the blood smeared around his face, and pointing his gun at the woman he loathed.

"Dodge dis, Botch!" he said.

Unexpectedly, a flash of light blinded him, and a boot found its way towards his face. Spewing a shot glass full of blood, and a few more teeth, Hachi spun around in mid air and landed flat on his stomach. Before him stood a dark-haired man dressed in black and wearing a frightening white mask.

"Hi… Hizumi…?" babbled Megumi, heart-stricken. He pulled out his knife to shove it in Hachi's skull, but Ubi froze him in place. "No! Let him go!"

"I think not!" barked Ubi.

Shaking off his daze, Hachi tenderly stood, removed Hizumi's mask and placed the barrel on his forehead. "I kill you firs', let Megubi watch 'nother love bird die, den her!"

"NNOO! STOP! PPLLEEAASSEE!"

"Sayonada!"

Unexpectedly, Hizumi's coat glowed blue. Noticing a wire had somehow wrapped around his wrist, Ubi disappeared as an electrical current approached him from Hizumi. The young reaper knocked the gun aside and relieved Hachi of two more teeth. As the battered man spun around, a foot met his face.

"Wha' da… BUUCK!"

Lying on the ground, as blood pooled around his face, Hachi gazed up at Hei. The Black Reaper placed his hand on Hachi's head and before he could perform the killing blow, Ubi used telekinesis to take hold of Hei's wrist and lifted it.

"You never quit," Ubi commended Hei. The teen boy took hold of all his preys. "You all are going to die!"

He began focusing his energy, and before the Gen New Contractor could snap their necks, a black hole opened. Ubi turned around and was clobbered by Megumi's cane, snapping it in half. From his brain bouncing off his skull, the Contractor lost a hold on his power.

"Jump in!" yelled Parcel.

Hizumi scooped up Megumi, who blushed from his muscular build, and followed Olivia and Hei into the hole. Parcel made her leave, but as she jumped through, another laser beam singed her back. She stumbled and rolled onto the outskirts of the city, as her black hole vanished.

Hei hurried over to his old partner's side and gazed at the charcoaled-like wound.

"Parcel!" he yelled, taking her hand.

"Looks… like… my ride… ends here…" she muttered.

"No, you'll be fine."

"Heh, Contractors are… liars…" Her eyes focused on something behind him. "Champ! It's… Champ… He came…" A smile crept on Parcel's face. "That… makes me… happy…"

Hei watched as the life slipped away from her eyes. He gazed up in time, as Parcel's star fell.

Megumi's grip tightened, knowing her curse had taken another life. Unbeknownst to him, Hizumi felt her tense, but dismissed it and comforted her.

Xxx

An old man stood in an illuminated two-story warehouse filled of crates from ground level to the roof. He scratched an old scar that lined through his right glossy white eye. The Hawaiian shirt and kaki shorts he wore looked redundant from his plump belly.

Combing his gray-spiky hair, the old man breathed out heavily from bad memories.

Ubi, holding Hachi, materialized behind him. The old man turned and gazed at them sternly.

"Looks like you were hit by a truck," he said at Hachi.

Ubi caught him up to speed concerning Megumi and the CIA.

"BK201? That's interesting," he pondered on. "How did they find out?"

"I'm guessing our contacts and networks were compromised. We might have a mole."

"No, I'm sure Madam O used another way to get Intel on us. Take care of your wound and, ah," the scarred man's eye focused on Hachi, "get him cleaned up and have a dentist look at his teeth. I have other jobs for you two."

Hachi nodded. The two departed, as the old man gazed back at the crates.

"Kuro no Shinigami," he mumbled. The scarred man touched his dead eye, pulled out a replica of Hei's knife and gazed at it. "It has been years since we last met. It would please me if it were I ending your life. However, I have other things to attend to."

The scarred man sheathed his weapon.

Xxx

The next day, the agent women sat outside the Minister's office while Megumi's thoughts dwelled on Hizumi. Being in his arms was invigorating. His scent was intoxicating, smelling of wild life and rugged sweat that seeped through every pore. It had lingered throughout the night, making it impossible for her to sleep, and she had to take care of some _personal _issues.

Her heart pounded intensely and it refused to unwind. Megumi had to bury her feelings for him so that it would not lead him to an early death. If he did, Megumi would lose her sanity.

However, it pleased her to know he was doing well. What boggled Megumi was Hizumi wanting to save her. It seemed that Madam Oreille and BK201 had not told him about her curse.

"Agents. The Minister will see you two now," said the female secretary.

The women stood and entered. The dark-skinned and graying Minister sat behind a quarter-sawn oak desk, his laced fingers lying on top of it, and the spotless black suit he wore seemed to be tailor made. His ears resembled miniature satellites, had hallow eyes and a mole on his right cheek. To Megumi, he looked and acted too much like former President Barack Obama.

"Aaliyah, Smith, and Gardner, all dead," he said, displeased. "How could this… happen?"

"Because we weren't ready," said Megumi. "Just because we thought this is the CIA, they wouldn't attack us head on. I get the impression Americans think that nothing can go bad."

"Itashi!" scolded Olivia.

"No, agent Bishop. She is right," complemented the Minister. "That's why… I'm making you… the leader of your squad."

"What?" Olivia disbelievingly shouted.

"Me?" questioned Megumi.

"Yes… you. You have the experience… from your time at the Foreign Affairs… and you are… highly skilled," indicated the Minister.

"Sorry, but I refuse," replied Megumi.

"Refuse? Why… may I ask?"

"Because Agent Olivia Bishop is more qualified than I. She's always here first, the last to leave, and is determined to do things by the book. Me, on the other hand, am a hard case to deal with, late, wants to leave as soon as I can and crippled.

"To be frank, sir, I feel like you're picking me because of my family history. I'm not like either of them. I've always been picked because of them. Not anymore, sir."

Sighing, the Minister said, "Alright. Agent Olivia Bishop… You're in charge."

"Yes, sir," replied Olivia before glancing at Megumi.

"Digressing," continued the Minister, "I have hired a new agent." The women agents looked on baffled, as he turned his attention towards the door. "You may enter."

The door slid open and revealed Kiski Shoji. Megumi's eyes widened.

Xxx

Hei stood before Parcel's old hideout holding a jar that contained her remains. Numerous years had gone by with countless deaths. He had been one of many, but he was given a second wind.

Opening the jar, Hei threw the ashes into Tokyo Bay.

"Rest in peace, Parcel," he whispered.

Xxx

Hizumi lay on a futon in a rundown apartment on the outskirts of Tokyo. His thoughts dwelled on Megumi. Her hair smelled the same, but her body felt brittle. If he had hurried faster several months ago, perhaps she would have had been saved from a life of pain.

He blamed himself for her state and the death of her fiancé. Even though it killed him to find out she had been engaged, it felt as though he had let her down.

Pushing it aside, Hizumi was pleased that Oreille had made a Contractor transport him across the ocean to save Megumi.


End file.
